


Riley In Wonderland

by KeyWillow8626



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: More characters to come, No OC Romance - yet, OC POV, She's only a kid right now
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-11-15
Updated: 2017-03-25
Packaged: 2018-08-31 05:11:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 23
Words: 67,802
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8565337
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KeyWillow8626/pseuds/KeyWillow8626
Summary: Riley had been eleven when she first saw it. That weird blue box that simply shouldn't be. It had left her feeling slightly displaced. A year later she saw it again. Now she was just curious. OR: Because it was simply stupid of the Doctor to assume that nobody ever noticed a big blue box parked in the weirdest of places.========Not stolen from FFnet, take a look at the author name here and then go back there and do the same. Hello, same person!





	1. Prologue

Riley had been on her way home from school when she first saw it. It didn’t really stick out all that much; in fact she wasn’t sure what it was about it that made her notice it. But notice it she did, and even though it couldn’t possibly be anything special she couldn’t help shake the feeling that something was wrong with it. Well, maybe not wrong per say, but off. Yes, that’s it, the thing felt off somehow; like it’s not supposed to be there or it’s supposed to be there but look different. Like a vague sense of déjà vu, except it wasn’t vague at all, she could feel it deep in her heart that something was just off. 

But what could be so off about it? It was just a telephone box standing in a corner. It wasn’t even the first she’d seen. But something was so clearly different about this one. Perhaps it was the color that threw her off, it was blue like the other phone boxes she’d seen but it was such a deep color full blue and not at all matted down like the others. Or perhaps it was the lamp on top, it looked nearly new and not at all broken, like it was viable to start shining any minute now. 

Whatever it was, the box was off and Riley felt displaced. She opted to ignore it and keep walking like nothing had happened (which really, nothing had) and hurried home suddenly feeling a bit scared. When she walked the same path the morning after the box was gone and she thought that maybe, just maybe, she had imagined it. 

A year later she saw it again. 

She knew it was the same one, because that feeling of misplacement had not changed. Even after a year she could still remember that feeling; that wrongness. 

It was just standing there, looking all innocent, and it had moved from where it was standing before. It was now standing just outside her door, parked in the square right in the middle of the Powel Estate. Riley had been living in the Powel Estate since she was a kid, just her and her aunt. It had never felt like a special place or anything but suddenly she was afraid. Why was it there? 

It gave of the same feeling it had before. It just wasn’t natural! Blue telephone boxes were not supposed to feel wrong! They weren’t supposed to feel anything. They were boxes, nothing more, so how can this one feel so off. 

Unless…

Riley knew she was running late, school started ten minutes ago, but she couldn’t help it. Even though every fiber in her body screamed at her to turn around, away from the box, she walked closer. It was like one of those wet paint signs, it says to not touch and suddenly she couldn’t help but wanting nothing else. 

She was sneaking forward, feeling a bit silly (who sneaks up on an immovable object?) but determined. She had to know, she just had to!

She was standing right in front of it now, the door handle just inches away from her, and she felt excited. Terrified but excited. In her short life of twelve years never had she felt this much excitement. 

She reached out her hand and grazed the wood. It might just have been her imagination but it felt tingly, warm. Wood is not supposed to feel warm, not unless it’s on fire. Her hand came at a stop at the handle, grasping it loosely but not pulling at it. Standing there, just about to open the strange blue box, Riley suddenly felt a bit out of bounds. Was it rude, just opening it without warning? Was she supposed to knock? It felt like she was supposed to knock, but it was a box! Not a house. It’s not like anyone lived in there. Did they? 

Deciding to bring out her courage, however small an amount (she was twelve and lived in London, she knew the scary stories about strangers and all that and they scared her when the sun went down), she yanked on the door. It was slow, like it didn’t want to open for her (maybe it was locked) but in the end the door swung open. 

If she had known any swearwords she’d have used them. As it was, all she could do was stand there and gape. 

“A rabbit hole.” She whispered in awe and slowly walked inside; disregarding any ill feelings she might have had before.


	2. Meeting Sexy

Sexy watched, or rather felt (but who’s picky), as the man child stepped inside her console room. It was a youngling if she ever saw one, female, dressed in a dark blue and white school uniform with a moss green beanie on her head, suppressing her rather impressive black curls. 

She knew that this was probably a bad idea, but her thief had been taking in strays for as long as he’d been driving her and quite frankly she’d wanted to try it herself. The fact that the youngling had seen her blue doors and decided to walk through them on her own spoke miles. Most people tended to overlook Sexy as she stood unassuming in street corners or alleys and simply walked by without so much as casting a second (if even a first) glance her way. But this child had seen her, remembered her even after a year, and had been curious. 

Yes, she decided, this would be fun. 

========================

Riley timidly walked through the doors and closed them silently behind her. She should not be in here. But how could she resist? It truly was a rabbit hole; a box that was bigger on the inside and what objects that filled its space! 

They had read Alice in Wonderland in school the year before and Riley had decided that it was her new favorite book filled with wonders and madness, who would be crazy enough not to like it? And now she had found her very own rabbit hole, right in her backyard. 

The room looked like some sort of cabin, the center had all these controls and buttons that looked very complicated, and she could see a door at the far end. More space! How big was this place? And why does it look like a telephone box? 

Riley stepped closer to the control thing at the center, all the time looking around her trying to take everything in at once. When she was right in front of the control console she suddenly stopped, having realized something. This box, this… bigger on the inside magical box, obviously belonged to someone. Most things tended to belong to people, even when you thought that they didn’t. And this box had moved once, she’d seen it (or at least, seen where it was before and after it moved), clearly that meant that someone had to move it. That person must be the owner of this wonderland. But where were they?

“Hello?” She called out, not aiming at anything in particular. “Anyone there?”

Well that sounded a bit cliché, even to her and she was twelve. But still nobody answered.

“I didn’t mean to trespass or anything but… well, you left the doors open, you know!” She called out again; on the off chance that whoever it was that owned the box didn’t hear her the first time. 

Still no answer. “Maybe they’re out?” She wondered out loud.

Suddenly something close gave out a metallic whine, making her jump. She looked around, startled, but found no one. Maybe this place was old? Like grandmothers old wooden cabin up north, that creaks and knocks even though there is nobody there? 

“Hello?” Riley was ashamed to admit that there was a slight tremble in her voice. The noise, whatever it was, came again. But this time it sounded further away, down the room and through the door at the far end.

Pulling herself together Riley decided to let herself be governed by her curiosity and slowly walked towards the sound. Hiking her Pocahontas backpack up her shoulders a bit she passed through the door and came face to face to a long corridor. The corridor had several different looking doors and passage ways on the sides and seemed to go on forever. The sound came back, further down the corridor and Riley took a deep breath before walking towards it and away from the entrance. 

It took her ten minutes of only walking before she finally found the place where the sound was coming from. Or at least, she assumed so, because when she walked through the last passage way she came into a library and there was someone in there waiting for her. 

Riley simply stared. She was scared but beyond that she was curious and wanted some answers. Most prominently about her mirror image clone standing across her.

“Well.” Said the clone and Riley started. Was that how her voice sounded to others? How weird. “That took forever, didn’t it?”

“Who are you?” Riley asked hurriedly and looked backwards, in case she needed to make a quick escape. “Where am I?”

“TARDIS.” Was all the answer she got.

“What?” Confusion was a good emotion to describe how she was feeling right about now. 

“The answer to both of your questions, youngling.” The Riley look-alike said. 

“Right, is that supposed to mean something because quite frankly…?”

“Time And Relative Dimension In Space. In short; TARDIS.” She was smiling now, but not a Riley-smile but rather that of a parents’ smile when they were patiently explaining something to their child. “It’s my name, youngling.”

“That’s a weird name, no offense or anything. And mine is Riley, not youngling.” The girl had introduced herself, it was only polite that she do the same. “Why do you look like me?”

“I don’t.” She said and Riley started as the girl flickered, like her TV sometimes did when the signal was bad. “I am simply using this image of you to communicate.”

“To what?” That was a long word.

“Communicate, it means to talk to you. I figured you’d be less scared like this.”

“Well, that’s nice of you?” Really, how are you supposed to answer to something like that? 

“I know.” Was she smug? Yes, she was. 

“No wait! When I asked where I was you said TARDIS was the answer. But then you said that it was your name. This place is named after you?”

“No, not really.” TARDIS was smiling now again. “This place is me, I am it.”

“Huh?” 

“This room, the corridor outside, the console room you entered through, all the rooms and corridors you haven’t yet seen, all of it is me. You are in the TARDIS and the TARDIS is me.”

Riley stood quietly for a while, trying to figure out exactly what she’d said. It had been a lot of words and they all seemed to say the same thing but then not. 

“So… you are saying that, what? This place is alive? And that it’s you? That you are this place?” Did that make sense? It didn’t feel like it. 

“Yes.” Apparently it did make sense.

“Right. You are a place but also a person, but not really.”

“You’re getting it!” The girl, thing, said cheerily. 

“I don’t really think I’m getting anything.”

“Well, you will, eventually.” There was that parent smile again. 

Riley shook her head, deciding to leave the complicated stuff for when it wasn’t as important; like when she was in bed trying to sleep. 

“So, why am I here?”

“Because you saw me. Most people don’t see me, not what I am, but you did. I let you inside because you are different.”

“Different how?”

“Just different.” Doesn’t it hurt to smile all the time? Does she never run out of energy because she is not a person but a place? There it got complicated again. 

“Okay, what now?” Maybe she should just skip school altogether today, she’d never make it in time for lunch anyway. 

“Well, I am very big you know. Do you want to explore?” TARDIS threw open her arms as if to indicate how big she was. 

“For how long?” School was one thing, but if she didn’t show up in time for dinner her aunt would yell at her. She’d had a glimpse of how big this place (person?) was and was sure it would take forever to explore all of it.

“However long you want to. You are free to leave, I’m not a bad person if that’s what you’re thinking. I just wanted some company for a while. My thief is gone with that blonde stray and I was bored.”

“Your thief?” You can own a thief?

“Yes, he’s stolen me but that’s okay, I let him after all. We travel together but sometimes he picks up strays and I get lonely.” She seemed a bit sad and Riley though that whoever this thief was (does that make him the owner?) he was rude. He’d stolen   
TARDIS after all, it’s only common sense to keep her happy. 

“All right, I get it. You just want a friend, is that it? You should have started with that you know. I’ll be more than happy to be your friend, as long as I get home in time for dinner.”

TARDIS looked up at her surprised. A friend? Really? Well, maybe she’d been a bit lonelier than she thought lately. Fine, let her thief keep his strays and she can get her very first friend. 

“Where do you want to start?” TARDIS smiled widely at her new friend. 

“We’ll start with your name.” Riley said resolutely. “It’s a bit of a mouthful, do you have a shorter one?”

“TARDIS is the short version.”

“Yes but… perhaps another one?”

“…my thief calls me Sexy sometimes.”

“Sexy? That’s even stranger than TARDIS. You know, I think I’ve heard that before. It’s what my aunt’s boyfriend Jared called her when they thought I was asleep.” Riley mused. “Still, I guess it is better than TARDIS. All right Sexy, let’s explore you!”


	3. The Thief and the Pig

Riley had been right; it would take forever to explore Sexy. It seemed that whenever they made a turn a whole new corridor showed up, equally as big as the first had been. Sexy didn’t help either, she simply trailed after Riley commenting on the doors and telling her more about herself.

Apparently Sexy was some kind of machine that was somehow alive. The image of Riley she was using was only temporary and sometimes it would flicker and sputter for a short while when they made new turns or walked down some stairs. Riley wasn’t overly worried though, even if the image disappeared Sexy’s voice still lingered and simply wouldn’t shut up. Though secretly Riley was glad about this because Sexy’s body (corridors and all) was so big and if she didn’t have some company she would lose her nerve. 

Sexy showed her the wardrobe (or one of them, she’d said there were more) and it was huge. They had some fun pointing out different outfits and Sexy would explain some of them to her, though not all. Apparently her thief have had a habit of taking of taking in strays (which really was only Sexy’s word for her thief’s companions throughout the years) for a very long time and some of the things they got up to were hilarious and terrifying at once.

After the wardrobe she was taken to the observatory which had a big telescope, the kind that you lie in, and the ceiling could be programmed to show different parts of space for you to look at. After that she was shown the attic (which really, how can a box have an attic?) were all kinds of dusty things were hidden away. 

They looked into dozens of rooms and explored for hours, Riley’s dinner curfew completely forgotten, and when they got hungry (Riley, that is, Sexy doesn’t eat after all) Sexy took her to the kitchen. 

“The loon hasn’t gone shopping in ages but I’m sure there is something edible in here somewhere.” Sexy said and gestured to the cabinets. 

“Oh, graduated from thief to loon now has he?” Riley asked jokingly and started to rifle through the cabinets she could reach.

“It’s a demotion.”

“Whatever that means.” She mumbled and pulled out a conserve of fruit salad. “Hah, here we go.”

“Good job, youngling!” If her hands were real Sexy would have clapped. 

“Riley! Not youngling. I am not a kid; I’ll have you know I’m twelve years old.” She said proudly as she started digging for the conserve opener.

“Drawer furthest to the left. And you are too a youngling, at least for me. I’m ancient, you’re… new.”

“Thanks. Twelve is a proud age, you know. Don’t ruin it.”

It was as she sat down to eat that she felt it, the whole place shook. It wasn’t shaking much but enough to be noticed. 

“Oh, seems my thief is back.” Sexy said and promptly dissolved.

“What? Wait! What am I supposed to do?” But she got no answer.

Sighing she took her can of fruit salad and her fork and started to make her way toward he console room, as Sexy had called it. It was actually easier to navigate now than it was before and she suspected that maybe Sexy was helping her along, she’d mentioned that she could move things around with no bother. 

When she came up to the console room she stopped just before stepping in to it. Drawing on her hide-and-seek skills she leaned forward and glanced out the door. The thief, he could be nothing else, was a sight to be seen. He was tall, taller than her aunt, and wearing all black. His ears and nose were pretty big, but not as big as janitor Collins’ at her school, and he was jumping and running around the controls like a lunatic. He looked slightly intimidating, but then most grown-ups do. 

Sexy gave another shake and then quieted down and the man/thief smiled triumphantly. Then he turned around and saw Riley. 

Riley had never seen a person’s eyes grow that round before, and he looked like he was about to drop his jaw. Nervously she stepped out of the door way and gave a small wave with the hand that wasn’t holding the can and fork.

“Hi.” 

“What? But…? How? Who? Huh?” He looked really confused and Riley had to fight really hard to stop from laughing. 

“The door was open.” She said. 

“No it wasn’t. You just walked right in?” He turned to look at the doors, like it was their fault, and then swirled back to her. It looked like he was having a hard time deciding what to say next, his mouth opened and closed several times. 

“Sort off.” She answered. 

“Who are you?” He seemed to have settled on an approach. 

“Riley. Se… I mean, TARDIS invited me.” Should probably use her proper name in contact with others, it only seemed polite. 

“Invited you?” He seemed to have gone back to confused again. 

“Yes, she said that she gets lonely and I was curious so… we, I mean I, have been exploring. Your library is really big, bigger than the one at school. Do you really read all those books?”

“Lonely? Exploring?” He really was starting to look a bit like a goldfish, the way his mouth kept opening and closing. 

“Uh huh, I was late for school anyway.” In retrospect that probably didn’t explain all that much, but the man was so confused anyway so it probably didn’t matter. 

“Right.” He cleared his throat. “Well then, Riley. Do you want to come look at an alien with me?”

“An alien?” Apparently confusion was a going thing.

“Yeah, or you can just stay here until I go back to Powel Estate.” The Doctor realized that this was probably the better option, the girl couldn’t have been more than thirteen and…

“Oh, we’ve moved? She said that she could. Aliens, huh? It sounds like fun!” She skipped up to him, tin can still in hand, and smiled widely.

 _Well_ , the Doctor thought, _she’s not really all that different from Rose. Just a smaller version is all. Couldn’t hurt_. He would have to figure out how to deal with her later; right now he had an alien to look at. He took the girl’s hand and led her toward the door.

“What was your name again?” He asked as they walked out the doors only to find themselves in a cupboard.

“Riley and your name…?” She couldn’t very well call him Thief now could she? There had to be something else.

“I’m the Doctor.” He answered and started digging around his pockets.

“Isn’t that more of a title than a name?” She asked confused.

“It’s all I got.” He simply answered and then let out a small sound of triumph as he produced a silvery thing with something blue at the end from his pockets. 

“That’s sad.” Riley said.

The Doctor started and turned to look at her. No one ever said that about his name (one of them; so he may have lied a bit about it being the only thing he’s got but the other still hurt and she was just a kid anyway). They all wondered, of course, but no one ever said it was sad. Was it sad? He didn’t know. He cleared his throat slightly and turned to the door again.

“Not really.” Was all he said and pointed the silvery stick at the lock.

He must have pressed a button or something because the thing started buzzing and Riley gave a small jump. The Doctor stops doing whatever he was doing and put his finger at his lips.

“Shush!” He hissed at the stick making Riley giggle. He gave a smile and buzzed the stick again. 

Suddenly the locks clicked and Riley realized that whatever he was doing the Doctor had somehow managed to unlock the door. She looked at the stick a bit more closely; was it magic like Sexy? Were the stick and the box somehow the same only one infinitely smaller than the other? Before she could ask the Doctor opened the door and dragged her out with him.

As soon as they were outside he stopped and Riley soon realized why. The room they had walked out into were filled with soldier-type looking people, all decked out in uniforms and red caps. There was a small moment of silence as the soldiers stared at the newcomers in shock before they all rose and aimed their weapons at them. As soon as the guns were pointed the Doctor pulled Riley behind him; he didn’t really think they would shoot, what with there being a minor in the room and all, but an alien ship had just crash landed in their city and everyone was on edge. He gave them a big smile and was just about to say something when they all heard a woman scream. 

Riley jolted at the scream, silently wishing that she had stayed in Sexy but not really (an adventure was an adventure even though it was scary), and peeked out from behind the Doctor’s back. The Doctor clapped his hands together.

“Defence plan delta! Come on. Move! Move!” He shouted and the soldier rushed into action.

As they ran toward the scream the Doctor made sure to keep a hold of Riley’s hand the entire time. Maybe taking her along hadn’t been such a good idea? Oh well, no use in crying over spilt milk! She was here and he would make sure to keep her safe.  
Riley follows along, or rather is dragged, as they run through a corridor and nearly lose her balance as the Doctor suddenly takes a turn and bursts into a room. The room is dark and it looks like the same kind of room that her parents were in after they had their accident and stopped being alive. Mortuary her aunt had called it. Riley had only been six but certain things you simply can’t forget.

There was some movement to her left and she crouched down with the Doctor to look at a frightened woman who was sitting on the floor. Riley realized it must have been her who screamed.

“It’s alive!” She breathed in a scared voice. The Doctor turned toward the soldiers who followed them inside.

“Spread out. Tell the perimeter it's a lockdown.” He ordered but they weren’t moving.

“My God. It’s alive!” The woman said again, as if she’d only just now realized this.

“Do it!” The Doctor yelled at the soldier and this time they obeyed.

Riley turned back to the woman who had finally stopped shaking. So they thought this alien-person was dead but in reality it was alive? Isn’t that something to be happy about? Surely an alive alien was better than a dead one? Most things are better when they are alive, except for big spiders. Those were never good unless they were dead and as far away from Riley as possible and even then it was a stretch. 

“I swear it was dead.” She spoke up again, drawing the Doctor’s attention back to her. 

“Maybe it was just asleep?” Riley suggested and the woman gave a start seemingly first now realizing that there was a child in the room.

“Coma, shock, hibernation, anything.” The Doctor nodded. “What does it look like?”

The woman was about to answer when they suddenly heard metal clattering in the background. The Doctor released Riley’s hand for the first time since first grabbing on to it and swirled around.

“It’s still here.” He whispered. He began standing up and motioned to a soldier that was still outside the door to come in. The soldier kneels by Riley and the woman and takes aim toward the sound as the doctor slowly creeps forward.

Riley watch slightly afraid but also delighted (a real alien!) and when the Doctor reaches around the cabinet she holds her breath. She sees as he pauses and then start to reach forward and Riley herself starts getting up to get a closer look.

“Hello.” The Doctor says and Riley can’t help but smile. He sounds delighted and surprised. But before she can get closer to look there is a noise and the alien suddenly runs away from the Doctor. 

Is that a pig? Riley stares bewildered as the creature runs past her on its hind legs and she can hear the Doctor shouting not to shoot but she is not paying attention. A pig in a space suit? 

There is a loud bang and Riley is shook from her thoughts. She turns to find the Doctor and the pig gone and follows them out into the corridor. The scene that meets her is one she’ll always remember. The pig is laying on the floor, the Doctor by its side and it doesn’t take a genius to figure out what happened. The soldier who shot the poor creature seems confused and Riley can’t help but feel a bit angry at him. Who shoots a pig unless he plans to eat it?

“It was scared.” The Doctor says in a sad tone and leans down over the pig. It was almost heartbreaking. 

The woman from before comes out of her mortuary and places a hand on Riley’s shoulder. She is staring at the scene in front of her looking shocked and confused. 

“It was scared.”


	4. Take me to your leader!

Riley is back in the mortuary, standing alongside the Doctor and the woman from earlier. The pig is lying on a table in front of them and all three are looking down at it. Riley can’t help but feel morose, like she was at a funeral, which was strange because it was a pig! She eats pork and bacon like the next person, even though her teacher tries to preach the goodness of vegetarianism, and those are from pigs. But there was just something very sad about this whole affair, something clearly beyond reason. 

“I just assumed that's what aliens look like, but you're saying it's an ordinary pig from Earth.” The woman was saying. Riley had yet to learn her name but she felt like it wasn’t so important right now; maybe later. 

The Doctor had been explaining for the past five minutes how this pig wasn’t an alien at all but rather just an ordinary pig. Riley had been listening with half an ear but her focus was on the creature on the table and not the conversation.

“More like a mermaid. Victorian showmen used to draw the crowds by taking the skull of a cat, gluing it to a fish and calling it a mermaid. Now someone's taken a pig, opened up its brain, stuck bits on, then they've strapped it in that ship and made it dive bomb. It must've been terrified. They've taken this animal and turned it into a joke.” The Doctor said hotly.

Riley looked up at his face and saw a cold fury there. Something that should have been scary had she not agreed with his sentiments. She reached out and took his hand; normally if a person was upset she would have hugged them but she barely knew the man and he didn’t really seem like the hugging-type so a single hand would have to do. The Doctor grabbed a hold of her hand as well, nearly swallowing hers up completely with his larger appendage, and squeezed. The woman started saying something again but the Doctor led her silently out of the room without the other noticing. They walked in silence toward the cupboard where Sexy was parked although Riley noted a certain edge to her companions stride; he was walking like a man with a goal. 

Once back inside Sexy he positioned himself by the console but didn’t actually start pressing buttons or pulling leavers. Riley stood at his side and was thinking about her day so far and that poor pig. 

“Do you think it had a name?” She asked.

The Doctor jolted into awareness at the girls question though it took some twenty seconds before the question actually translated into a meaning in his mind. 

“A name?” He asked incredulously. What kind of question was that? Was it even important?

“Yes, a name.” Riley confirmed resolutely. “I mean, I know it was a pig and all but... all creatures have names. Even the ones that you don’t think about.”

Of course, he realized, she is a child. A question like would make sense to a child and it would definitely be important. He suddenly remembered how long ago it was that he last dealt with children. 

“I suppose you’re right.” He admitted, after all such a mindset that all things are important (even the name of a single pig) is precious and could only be found in a child. It was something that he would not take away from her. 

“I wish we knew it.” She sighed. “That poor pig.”

The Doctor looked at her a little uneasily, hoping that she wouldn’t start crying. But the girl, Riley, surprised him when her face switched from sad to determined and even a bit angry.

“The people who did this to that poor innocent pig.” She started and turned toward him. “You’ll catch them, right?”

It wasn’t really a question, the Doctor realized with slight humour, the girl was ordering him. The console heated up under his hands and he felt, for the first time in a long while, the presence of his ship in his mind.

_You better._

Well, isn’t that a new development? The TARDIS must really have taken a liking to this human child if she was already exhibiting possessive traits about her. The Doctor suddenly realized that he’d be seeing quite a lot of Riley in the future, weather he wanted to or not, if this was any indication. 

“I’ll do my best.” He said, answering both of them. 

Riley hung on to the railing as the Doctor flew Sexy back to Powel Estate. The man had own Sexy for some time, she had been told, but he clearly had yet to master the art of flying her. Wasn’t there some kind of license for driving a machine like Sexy, like there was for cars? Judging by the Doctors driving there definitely should be. 

They had only been landed for half a minute when the front doors opened and Riley watched as Rose Tyler and Mickey Smith jogged up to the console. Well, how about that! The Tyler daughter had returned! It only took her a year. Riley remembered reading the posters that Mrs. Tyler put up all over the estate and her aunt talking to her explaining again the rules about strangers and candy. Rose Tyler’s disappearance had been hot gossip for nearly a year in the neighborhood and everybody knew the story. Riley suddenly realized that Rose must have been with the Doctor for that entire time; Sexy had mentioned that the latest stray was blonde. 

“All right, so I lied. I went and had a look. But the whole crash landing's a fake. I thought so. Just too perfect. I mean, hitting Big Ben. Come on, so I thought let's go and have a look.” The Doctor started talking but Rose interrupted.

“My mum’s here.”

Riley turned around again and sure enough, Jackie Tyler was standing right at the landing and staring around wide eyed. 

“Oh, that's just what I need. Don't you dare make this place domestic.”

“Hi Mrs. Tyler.” She waved cheerily. Riley wasn’t really the kind of person to find fun in other people’s freak-outs but sometimes the moments just too good.

But it wasn’t the elder Tyler who reacted to her presence; it was the younger.

“What’s she doing here?” Rose asked the Doctor sounding both shocked and accusing. 

“Long story.” Was all the Doctor said and turned back to his scanner. Long and complicated, he wasn’t sure if even he knew exactly why the girl was there yet.

“You ruined my life, Doctor. They thought she was dead. I was a murder suspect because of you.” Mickey spoke up for the first time.

“You see what I mean? Domestic.” He turned to half-glare at the blonde.

“I bet you don't even remember my name.” Mickey continued goading him. 

Riley watched amused as the Doctor argued that he too remembered the boy’s name and that it was Ricky. Mrs. Tyler looked more frightened by the second and Rose was starting to look a cross between amused and exasperated. It sure was lively in   
here. How Sexy could get bored was beyond her? But then again, none of the participants in the room were addressing the ship. Being ignored could get boring, she supposed. 

She watched as Mrs. Tyler finally broke and ran out, thoroughly freaked, and saw Rose run after her before shortly returning. Riley decided that rather than observing she would have more fun if she interacted with them and as such walked up to the console and positioned herself next to Mickey. 

“That was a real spaceship.” Rose said next to the Doctor.

“Yep.” He answered.

“So it's all a pack of lies? What is it, then? Are they invading?” She continued remembered what he’d said when they entered.

“Funny way to invade, putting the world on red alert.” Mickey pointed out next to Riley and she rather thought have made a good observation. 

“Good point! So, what're they up to?” The Doctor complimented him reluctantly.

“Unless they want us all panicking.” Riley added quietly. The Doctor turned to her and gave her a thoughtful look.

“Hm.” Was all he came up with before starting to kneel down and remove part of the grating from the floor. 

Riley was standing to the side again, watching the Doctor work on the floor (or rather, beneath it) as he fiddled with wires and the like. Rose stood to her left, the blonde had thrown her a few looks in the past five minutes but had not made an attempt to talk to her, and Mickey was standing over the Doctor.

“So, what're you doing down there?” He asked and leaned down further to see.

“Rickey.” The Doctor started and Riley giggled. She knew he was doing it on purpose and it was kind of rude but all the same; it was funny.

“Mickey.” Mickey corrected.

“Ricky.” The Doctor persisted. “If I was to tell you what I was doing to the controls of my frankly magnificent time ship, would you even begin to understand?”

That was a good point. And Sexy was magnificent, not just her body but her personality too. Did she feel it when the Doctor was working on her wires? That was a weird thought.

“I suppose not.” Mickey had to admit.

“Well, shut it, then.”

Mickey gave up and walked over to Rose, the two of them starting a conversation and Riley suddenly felt like she was imposing. Those two had been going out together when Rose disappeared and even though she still wasn’t to clear on the details of the blondes return she knew that they probably wanted some space. So she walked over to the Doctor and took up a stance where Mickey had just been.

“That was a bit rude of you.” She said, not really scolding him but just pointing it out.

“Stupid questions get stupid answers.” He answered.

“It wasn’t a stupid question, though.” Really, it wasn’t. Though Mickey probably wouldn’t have understood the explanation it was only natural that he be curious and the Doctor could have levelled it down a bit so that he would understand. 

The Doctor said nothing to this but just continued working. Riley sighed having recognized the sign of stubbornness and decided it just wasn’t worth it. Rather she backed off a bit and stood the side so that she could still see the Doctor but not close enough to talk to him. She leaned at the railing and sighed softly. 

Maybe it was time for her to go home? She was already way past being late for dinner and she was sure her aunt would have started to worry now. She was just about to announce that she was going home when the Doctor gave out a triumphant yell. 

“Got it! Ha ha! Patched in the radar, looped it back twelve hours so we can follow the flight of that spaceship.” He explained quickly and they all stepped closer to see. “Here we go. Hold on. Come on.” 

The screen turned blue and a simple picture of Earth showed up. There was a line coming into Earth’s atmosphere that Riley assumed was the ship. The Doctor pointed at it. 

“That's the spaceship on its way to Earth, see? Except. Hold on.” The screen flickered and he hit it impatiently. “See? The spaceship did a sling shot round the Earth before it landed.”

Riley didn’t really see anything but it seemed to make sense to the Doctor. She supposed it was because he was clever or maybe it had to do with his status of being an alien. Sexy had said her thief wasn’t from Earth, well more like mentioned it in passing while they were exploring, and that meant he must be alien right? Maybe aliens know stuff about other aliens by pure principle? 

“What does that mean?” Rose asked and Riley tried to pay more attention, she might actually learn from this. And besides, she had a feeling that the Doctor had already forgotten about the pig in a space suit but Riley certainly hadn’t. She was going to make them pay for that poor creature’s suffering and if the Doctor didn’t then she would just have to it herself. 

“It means it came from Earth in the first place. It went up and came back down. Whoever those aliens are, they haven't just arrived, they've been here for a while. The question is, what have they been doing?” The Doctor answered.   
Riley stilled, thinking about the new information. These alien people had been here for a while? Why? What did Earth have to offer for people that had already mastered space travel? 

The Doctor started going through channels on his screen, apparently it was both a computer screen and a television, and Mickey stepped closer. 

“How many channels do you get?” He asked and Riley nearly laughed, aliens on Earth and he was asking about the television? Was that even important?

“All the basic packages.” The Doctor answered distractedly. 

“You get sports channels?” Really, Riley thought, sport? Men can be so one-track minded sometimes, at least that’s what her aunt used to say. 

“Yes, I get the football.” The Doctor sighed but then perked up a bit. The channel he was currently on showed a bunch of people marching down a hallway wearing official looking uniforms. “Hold on, I know that lot.”

It appeared to be a news story and a reporter was speaking off screen. “It is looking likely that the Government's bringing in alien specialists - those people who have devoted their lives to studying outer space.”

“United Nations Intelligence Taskforce. Good people.” The Doctor explained to Mickey and Rose while Riley was focusing on the screen. These people had devoted their lives to this kind of thing? That was impressive... and slightly sad.

“How do you know them?” Rose asked intrigued. 

“'Cos he's worked for them.” Mickey began before the Doctor had a chance to tell her. “Oh yeah, don't think I sat on my backside for twelve months, Doctor. I read up on you. You look deep enough on the Internet or in the history books, and there's his name, followed by a list of the dead.”

“Well that’s dramatic,” Riley muttered. “A list of the dead? What, did you take drama in high school?” 

“That's nice. Good boy, Ricky.” The Doctor seemed to agree with her though he looked somewhat irritated and troubled at the same time. 

“If you know them, why don't you go and help?” Rose tried getting them back on track. 

“They wouldn't recognise me. I've changed a lot since the old days.” He said evasively. “Besides, the world's on a knife-edge. There's aliens out there and fake aliens. We want to keep this alien out of the mix. I'm going undercover. And er, I'd better keep the TARDIS out of sight. Ricky, you've got a car. You can do some driving.”

“Where to?” Mickey asked, already giving up on correcting the man about his name. 

“The roads are clearing. Let's go and have a look at that spaceship.” The Doctor said excitedly and started walking toward the door before he stopped and turned to Riley. 

“You coming as well?” He asked, not entirely sure he wanted her to. When he had seen Riley and Rose standing next to each other he had realized how young the girl really was. It hadn’t occurred to him before but there was a stark contrast between the two girls in age even though it couldn’t have been more than five or six years. But at the same time the girl intrigued him. The TARDIS had taken a liking to her and that above anything made her special. 

“I suppose.” Riley answered slowly, thinking that she was already in trouble with her aunt so some more couldn’t hurt all too much.

“Are you sure?” Rose asked the Doctor. “I mean, I don’t know what she’s doing here but it could get dangerous.”

“Well, she’s already involved. Might as well see it through to the end.” He said looking at the girl in question.

Riley nodded her head and smiled. She wanted to know what these alien people were doing on Earth and she had a pig to avenge. 

“There you go!” The Doctor exclaimed and clapped his hands together.

All four of them walked toward the door and out on the pavement only to get blinded by bright helicopter lights and assaulted by the yells from over a dozen police officers in action gear.

“Do not move! Step away from the box and raise your hands above your heads.” 

Riley looks around startled and slightly scared. She feel the Doctor’s arm on her shoulders pulling her closer to him, as if trying to protect her, and she sees Mickey run off. She looks over at Rose who seems just as startled as herself. Suddenly Jackie Tyler comes out of the apartment complex running toward them. 

“Rose!” She yells panicked but is held back by more police officers.

“Raise your hands above your head. You are under arrest.” The man in the helicopter shouts down through the megaphone. 

All three of them raise their hands and Riley sees her aunt coming out of the complex next to Jackie.

“Riley?” She calls bewildered. “No! Riley” 

She tries to get to her but like Jackie she is held back. The two women stand next to each other looking scared but determined over at their girls. 

“Take me to your leader!” The Doctor shouts out with a mad grin on his face.

“Are you serious?” Rose asks exasperated but also smiling, having realized that if the Doctor wasn’t worried then maybe things were okay.

“Brilliant.” Riley laughed and the other two turned to her. “What? Oh come on, it is! I wished I had thought of that.”

The Doctor’s grin grew wider and Rose starts to giggle. 

“Well then.” She says after her giggle fit has died down and they are being led to a police car. “This promises to be interesting.”

“Oh yes.” The Doctor agrees. “I can’t wait.”


	5. Downing Street

”This is a bit posh.” Rose said as they seated themselves in the car. “If I knew it was going to be like this, being arrested, I would have done it years ago.”

Riley had to agree with the blonde; it was very comfortable. They hadn’t even been clasped in handcuffs or anything. She wasn’t entirely sure why they were taken by the police and she could already hear the lecture her aunt would preach when she got back home, but all the same; it was ‘posh’. 

“We're not being arrested, we're being escorted.” The Doctor corrected her.

“Escorted at gun point?” Riley asked confused. “What’s wrong with asking nicely?”

“Well, I expect them all to be rather high strung. Spaceship in the Thames and all that.” The Doctor mused.

“Escorted where?” Rose asked.

“Where'd you think? Downing Street.” He answered.

“For real?” Riley couldn’t believe it.

“You’re kidding!” Apparently neither could Rose.

“I’m not.” The Doctor answered amused as he looked between his back seat companions.

“Downing Street?”

“That’s the one.” He grinned.

“Oh, my God. I'm going to 10 Downing Street? How come?” Rose said in excitement.

“Yeah, why are they taking us there? Why us?” Riley asked although she did have a slight idea. Most likely it was because of the Doctor and she and Rose was just along for the ride.

“I hate to say it, but Mickey was right. Over the years I've visited this planet a lot of times, and I've been, er, noticed.” The Doctor explained hurriedly as if slightly embarrassed.

“Not exactly stealthy, TARDIS is she?” Riley agreed. “And you’re not really either.”

“So you’ve been noticed and now they need you?” Rose mused while nodding her head.

“Like it said on the news. They're gathering experts in alien knowledge. And who's the biggest expert of the lot?” He asked proudly, clearly with an answer already in mind.

“Patrick Moore?” Rose asked jokingly, just to get a chance to deflate him a bit. 

“Apart from him.” The Doctor clarified annoyed and Riley giggled. 

“Oh, don't you just love it.” Rose egged him on while laughing and the Doctor joined her.

“I'm telling you. Lloyd George, he used to drink me under the table. Who's the Prime Minister now?” He asked with a tone of nostalgia. 

“How should I know? I missed a year.” Rose said and the both of them turned to Riley.

“Don’t look at me!” She said. “I’m only twelve! And my aunt Sarah tells me never to get involved in politics.”

“Alright then.” The doctor smiled and waved aside. “Sounds wise to me, that aunt of yours. Very messy, politics.”

The car pulled to a stop outside Downing Street and even from within the car Riley could tell the place was crowded with people, both inside and out. The three of them got out and they were nearly blinded by camera flashes and people calling out   
asking who they were and what was going on. The doctor posed for the cameras but Riley made sure to stick by Rose and face the other way.

“Oh my God.” The Blonde was muttering in awe at the sight of Ten Downing Street.

“I can’t believe we’re here.” Riley agreed.

Rose looked down at the other girl and was struck by how small she seemed. Twelve she had said. She remembered having seen the girl around the estate, playing with her friends and heading to and from school, but she had never really talked to her. Her aunt, Sarah Petrie, was a good friend of her mum’s and Sarah’s old boyfriend had helped them throw out their old couch three years ago... well, four years ago, but the girl herself had never really been around at those times. She wasn’t sure what Riley was doing in the TARDIS or why the Doctor thought it a good idea to bring her along but Rose would make sure that no harm came to her. Twelve years old.

“Me neither.” Rose said and Riley looked up at her.

“This last year, when you were gone, you were with him. Weren’t you?” She asked.

“Yes, although it’s only been a few days for me.” Rose answered, wondering where this was going. The Doctor was making his way around the car toward them but was stopped by more reporters yelling questions at him, which he didn’t answer.

“Right, time machine.” Riley nodded contemplative. “All the same, I’m glad you’re back. Mrs Tyler has been a right mess, all worried.”

“I know, I didn’t mean...” Rose began saying guiltily, not even realizing she was trying to explain herself to a twelve year old.

“It doesn’t matter what you meant.” Riley interrupted resolutely. “All that matter is that you’re here now and even if you leave again it means that at least this time she’ll have an idea of where you are. I think that was the worst bit, not knowing.”

“Yes.” Was all Rose could say before the Doctor reached them and all three went on inside.

Riley had been right, the place was filled with people. There were soldiers, people in business suits, official looking general type people… all in all there was just a lot of people and Riley felt slightly out of place. She made sure to stick by Rose as they walked further into the building. They ended up in a waiting room of some sort.

“Ladies and gentlemen, can we convene? Quick as we can, please. It's this way on the right, and can I remind you ID cards are to be worn at all times.” A young man called out in front of the room, gathering their attention.

He walked over to where the Doctor was standing with another of those ID cards in his hand which he handed to the Doctor. 

“Here's your ID card. I'm sorry, your companions doesn't have clearance.” He nodded over to Riley and Rose, pausing slightly at Riley wondering what a child was doing in Downing Street before shaking it off. 

“I don’t go anywhere without them” The Doctor protested.

“That’s alright.” Riley interrupted. “I don’t think I’m welcome anyway, being only twelve and all.”

The man nodded. “You're the code nine, not them. I'm sorry, Doctor. It is the Doctor, isn't it? They'll have to stay outside.”

“They’re staying with me.” The Doctor countered firmly with an edge in his voice. 

“Look, even I don't have clearance to go in there. I can't let her in and that's a fact.” The man sighed, those were the rules. 

“It’s all right.” Rose spoke up. “You go.”

Riley nodded thinking that even though the Doctor clearly had a stubborn streak this was the government; sometimes it’s just better to fold, or at least make them think that you are. Downing Street, eh? She wondered if it would be considered trespassing to snoop around a bit. They had invited her in after all, albeit at gunpoint but all the same. 

A woman approached the quartet from behind the man arguing with the Doctor. Riley would have to ask his name soon, it was only polite. 

“Excuse me. Are you the Doctor?” She asked.

“Sure.” The Doctor answered Rose, not even paying attention to the woman.

“Not now.” The man sighed, clearly annoyed. “We're busy. Can't you go home?”

“I just need a word in private.” The woman persisted.

“I suppose so. Don't get in any trouble” The Doctor continued talking with Rose before turning to Riley, not even looking over at the other woman who was arguing with the man. “You stay with Rose, yeah.”

“Promise.” Riley answered only half paying attention.

The Doctor left and Rose turned to Riley but before she could speak up the man burst out at the woman.

“You haven't got clearance. Now leave it.” He started to sound really annoyed now and Riley wondered if they’d have a similar argument earlier during the day. They seemed to know each other previously anyway. He turned to Rose and Riley. “I'm going to have to leave you both with security.”

“It's all right. I'll look after them. Let me be of some use.” The woman spoke up again and before the man had a chance to argue she took a hold of Rose by her arm and started walking away, Riley following. 

“Walk with me. Just keep walking. That's right. Don't look round.” The woman was muttering as she led them away in a slight hurry. She flashed a card at them. “Harriet Jones, MP Flydale North.”

She led them into the entrance hallway, where they had entered from outside before, and paused by the stairwell. Rose looked somewhat confused but Riley had a feeling that this Harriet Jones had something important to say; why else would she be looking for the Doctor? And there was something in her eyes that suggested she might be scared. 

“This friend of yours, he's an expert, is that right? He knows about aliens?” She asked and Rose was immediately on guard.

“Why do you want to know?” 

When Harriet started crying Riley knew she’d been right. She also realized that they’d probably end up in trouble over it, at some point. Hopefully the Doctor wouldn’t be too annoyed. She watched as Rose tried to comfort the older woman but stood off a bit to the side. Rose Tyler was a compassionate person and Riley wasn’t, at least not in the same way. But after a while of watching she walked over in long strides and stood in front of Harriet.

“Show us.” Was all she said but the woman understood. 

Harriet led them up the stairs and through another corridor and into an office that led into what Riley assumed was a cabinet room. She was sure they weren’t supposed to be here but she didn’t care. This counted as snooping, right?   
The older woman went on to explain what she had seen. Riley listened fascinated to her tale of aliens in body suits of humans who were taking over the government. Was stuff like that even real? Sounded like some sort of novel to her, but the fear in Harriet’s eyes was real. 

“They turned the body into a suit. A disguise for the thing inside!” She cried distressed as she showed them the skin suit that the aliens discarded. 

“That’s disgusting.” Riley said with a face. “That is really, really... ugh!” 

“It's all right. I believe you.” Rose tried to reassure the woman. “It's... it’s alien. They must have some serious technology behind this. If we could find it, we could use it.”

She started to search the room; looking into cabinets and behind doors. Riley was just contemplating about whether to help her or not when Rose came to stop in front a large cabinet. She opened it and promptly gave out a shriek and jumped away. Riley didn’t blame her.

There was a body in the cabinet. An actual human dead body! It fell out through the open door and onto the floor with a small crack. 

“Oh, my God!” Rose cried afraid. “Is that the...”

Before she could finish her sentence and before the other two could react, the young man from before came bursting into the room. 

“Harriet, for God's sake. This has gone beyond a joke. You cannot just wander...” He stopped at the sight of the body. “Oh, my God. That's the Prime Minister!”

“That’s the dead body of the Prime Minister.” Riley corrected him and walked over to Rose, trying not to look at the dead man in front of her. As she came to a stop at the blonde’s side Rose reached out and took her hand. 

“Are you okay?” She asked Riley concerned.

“You were the one who found him.” Riley pointed out and she would have said more except another person came into the room then. 

“Oh! Has someone been naughty?” 

It was a fat woman in a business dress with short blond hair. She loomed closer with a wicked smile on her lips and the man, Riley really needed to know his name, turned to her. 

“That's impossible. He left this afternoon. The Prime Minister left Downing Street. He was driven away!” He sounded really confused as he was trying to make sense of it, Riley was more focused on the woman though.

“And who told you that, hmm? Me.” She answered his confused questions, smile still on her lips. 

Riley took a step backwards, dragging Rose with her, as the woman reached up to her forehead. It was with a horrible sort of realization that she watched the woman clasp a zipper that they had somehow missed before and started to open it. The soft blue light illuminating them as she continued to unzip herself did nothing to soothe their nerves and they all watched horrified as the woman, if she was one, shed her human skin suit and in her place a big green thing emerged. Riley supposed that this was how aliens looked like, at least this particular one, but that thought didn’t really contribute anything constructive at the moment. She heard Rose gasp next to her and the blonde’s grip on her hand tightened. 

The alien flexed its three, not five, fingers in a sort of relief and turned to look at the four of them still staring at it. It was a bit difficult to tell but Riley realized that it was still smiling. 

The alien reaches forward and grab the man and shoves him into the wall forcefully. Riley can do nothing but watch as he screams in fear and pain as the creature tightens its grip. Rose screams and Harriet whimpers as the alien gurgles a laugh and press its fingers tighter around the man. Riley closes her eyes just as she hear the crack of the man’s neck breaking. She does not see the alien toss the now dead man onto the floor, nor does she see when it turns to them instead and begins to close in. She sees nothing of this, though she does feel Rose back up and sense Harriet step in front of them as if trying to protect them, but she can still tell when it changed. There was a small flick in the air, not really anything you can touch or put your finger on, just a small change in movement that made Riley open her eyes.

What met her sight was something that she would never forget. A green giant alien covered in blue electricity. And it was screaming. Wide-eyed she stared, not really comprehending, and if the situation was different and someone hadn’t just died in front of her... she would have smiled.


	6. And how do we get out?

Rose was the one that got them back on point when she grabbed a hold of Harriet’s hand as well and dragged the other two women with her away from the electrocuted alien. Riley shook herself, trying to come back to her senses, and did her best to keep up with the other two while clinging onto Rose’s hand. It was difficult; Rose and Harriet were both taller and therefore had longer legs which they used to their maximum capacity while Riley had to make do with her miniature ones. 

The hadn’t really been running for long, in fact they barely made it out of the office in front of the cabinet room, before Harriet suddenly stopped.

“No, wait. They're still in there. The emergency protocols. We need them.” She called and turned back.

“Wha...” Rose asks confused, probably thinking that this is just not the time for protocols which is what Riley was thinking, but goes after her all the same.

Just as they were about to enter back into the cabinet room the alien came out of the door. For some reason the electricity was gone and now it (her?) was angrier than before. Riley pulled on Rose who turned and along with Harriet all three ran out (again), this time with a huge green thing chasing after them. 

They ran through doors and slamming them behind them hoping to stop the alien who just broke them down and continued to chase them. Riley wasn’t sure for how long it went on, her legs started protesting early on and she suddenly remembered that all she had to eat today besides breakfast was a can of fruit, but they gained some leeway when they ran through a long corridor. Just as they passed it the elevator gave a beep and the doors opened. 

“Hello!” Riley pauses as she realizes that the man in the elevator is in fact the Doctor. He smiles at them, the alien included, and gives a cheerful greeting as if this was all very normal (which for him... all things considered it probably was). 

The alien was distracted by his, quite frankly, abrupt appearance which allowed the three women to escape its sight by ducking into a side door which turned out to open into another sitting room. They all look around in panic.

“Hide!” Rose yells as she can hear the alien coming closer outside.

Riley lets go of the blonde’s hand, for the first time since they linked it in the cabinet room, and rush to the windows at the far end of the room. She thought at first to see if she could climb out the window but then realized that they were at the second floor and it had been raining earlier so it was probably slippery. Rather she hid behind the curtains which reached all the way down to the floor. She saw through the crack how Harriet ducked behind a big screen and sees Rose crouch down behind a cabinet right in front of the curtains. 

Really, behind the cabinet? That’s not even properly hiding! It’s just sitting on the floor and hope that the seeker is blind! She gestures for Rose to join her behind the curtains but before she can move the alien has already entered the room. Riley freezes in fear. This was so not how she envisioned her day going!

“Oh, such fun.” The alien was cooing like one would to a baby animal. Quite frankly, if the situation hadn’t been so serious Riley would have laughed incredulously. “Little human children, where are you? Sweet little humeykins, come to me. Let me kiss you better. Kiss you with my big, green lips.”

Okay, see now that’s just revolting. Kiss that big green bulbous thing? The alien was clearly enjoying herself wasn’t she? 

Riley could see through the small gap in the curtains how the alien was turning around to look at something with her back turned to the curtains. She hurriedly motioned Rose who got up from her hunched position on the floor and dashed across the distance to the curtains. Safely beside Riley and concealed from the creature she once again took a hold of the younger girl’s hand and squeezed. Riley would have squeezed back but just then another two big green aliens entered the room and the shock was the only thing preventing her from gasping out loud. 

“My brothers” The first alien said to the other two. 

Well, Riley supposed she could see some similarities... how on Earth could they tell each other apart? They looked completely the same! Even humans have distinguishing features such as hair and eye colour but these alien people all looked exactly the same. Or was it an alien thing? 

“Happy hunting?” One of the new ones asked the old one. 

Right, Riley needed a name for these things to separate them. The first one, the one that had killed the other man in the cabinet room earlier, would have to be called Bambi. She was everything that Bambi wasn’t; ugly, fat, green, female and a murderer. Perfect! The second one, that had asked Bambi about the hunting just now, would henceforth be known as Gaston; like from the Beauty and the Beast, he was concerned about hunting after all. And final one would simply be Deterrent; that body odour of his really was.

Riley realized that these probably weren’t the best of names as far as human hunting, prime minister killing, bulbous green bodied aliens goes but she was only twelve and under stress. And quite frankly, she realized, probably should be focusing on the human hunting, prime minister killing, bulbous green bodied aliens that were steadily coming closer to their hide-outs. 

“It's wonderful. The more you prolong it, the more they stink.” Bambi replied to Gaston gleefully. 

“Sweat and fear.” Deterrent seemed to agree. Although Riley privately thought that he didn’t really have the right to comment on such matters; he really smelled stronger than the other two (not that the other two smelled of roses and baby oil either but   
all the same...). 

“I can smell an old girl. Stale bird and brittle bones.” Gaston apparently had a nose similar to that of a dog. What a rude thing to say!

“And two ripe youngsters, all hormones and adrenalin. Fresh enough to bend before they snap!” Bambi countered and Riley realized suddenly that the alien in question was standing only two feet away from her and Rose.

Bambi smiled a wicked smile; that on her face didn’t really look like a smile but rather a grimace but clearly was one, and reached to pull the curtains apart. Riley gasped startled and Rose screamed. They could do nothing as Bambi closed in even further and Riley felt Rose’s hand around hers tighten in fear. 

“No!” Harriet screams and jumps out from her hiding place making all of them look at her. “Take me first! Take me!”

Riley really would have liked to appreciate the sentiment but she didn’t think it would make that much of a difference. Even if they took Harriet first there were still three of them and it would be simpler for the aliens simply to take one of them each. Not that she wanted them to but it was just one of those things that popped into her head as she watched Harriet trying to sacrifice herself to save Rose and her. 

What a brave woman.

Suddenly the Doctor of all people bursts into the room carrying a fire distinguisher. Before any of them really has a chance to react he aims the extinguisher at the three aliens and fire. 

“Out, with me!” He yells and Rose wastes no time to drag Riley over to him, ducking out of the way from Bambi who was trying to reach them through the haze of the CO2. Rather quick on her feet Rose tears down the curtains that they were hiding behind and make them fall over Bambi like a net. 

From the other side of the room Riley sees Harriet sneak over to the other side of the Doctor and the man in question looks at her apparently not having noticed her before.

“Who the hell are you?” He asks, not rudely mind just... confused.

“Harriet Jones, MP for Flydale North.” She wastes no time in answering giving what Riley was beginning to suspect was her standard answer. 

“Nice to meet you.” The Doctor smiles shortly at her, still spraying the aliens.

“Nice to meet you too.” Harriet replies making Riley grin a bit; never mind the aliens trying to kill you just a few feet away, just be polite and introduce yourself. That is so British.

The fire extinguisher in the Doctor’s hands suddenly sputters and run out and he toss it over to the aliens before grabbing Rose’s hand, which is still holding onto Riley, and runs out the door. 

“We need to head to the Cabinet Room.” The Doctor calls to the three of them and they rush forward.

“The Emergency Protocols are in there. They give instructions for aliens.” Harriet immediately agreed. Riley privately thought that emergency protocols would do very little to help the situation but the woman was adamant. Who knows, maybe bureaucracy could be of some assistance but Riley doubted it. 

“Harriet Jones, I like you.” The Doctor said with a big smile. 

“And I like you too.” Harriet replied, making Riley smile as well; politeness while being chased by hunting aliens. 

They continued to run, Riley still holding onto Rose’s hand, through the corridors and large rooms. Riley was beginning to feel tired, she had been running on and off most of the day and aside from that tin can of fruit earlier she had eating nothing but breakfast. Her twelve year old body could only take so much stress and it was beginning to strain on her. She got the impression that rather than running she was currently stumbling forward; the only thing keeping her afloat being Rose who had an iron grip on her hand. 

The cabinet room was just up ahead and they all rushed in, slightly short of breath. The Doctor grabbed hold of a decanter filled with what Riley assumed was alcohol of some sort and rushed back to the doorway where the aliens were about to enter. He switched that blue light on from his silvery stick that he had used earlier and turned it at the decanter.

“One more move and my sonic device will triplicate the flammability of this alcohol. Whoof, we all go up. So back off.” He threatened and the three aliens took a step back. 

Riley hoped that he was bluffing, she didn’t fancy being blown up, but she also hoped that the aliens didn’t realize that. Then again if these aliens had invaded Downing Street with some sinister goal in mind perhaps it would be better to get rid of them. 

There was also the matter of that poor pig; somebody had to pay for its cruel death and these alien people were clearly the perpetrators. She rather wished that they wouldn’t have to pay with her life as the expense though. 

“Right then. Question time. Who exactly are the Slitheen?” The Doctor asked hurriedly. 

The slith-what? Is that what they were called? Riley looked over at Rose who stood by her side but the blonde wasn’t paying attention to her. Harriet too was focused on the interrogation in front of them.

“They’re aliens.” She said as if that explained everything.

“Yes, I got that. Thanks.” The Doctor answered her before turning back to the aliens... whatever they were called. 

“Who are you, if not human?” Gaston the alien spoke up. Harriet made a double take at that.

“Who’s not human?” She asked Rose clearly confused.

“He is not human.” Rose answered and gestured toward the Doctor.

“He is human.” Riley disagreed. “Just not in the biological sense.”

And it was true; at least that’s what she thought. The Doctor appeared every bit human both in the physical sense and his state of mind. Sure his mind was filled with all that alien stuff, Sexy had said he was the “smartest man to ever be so dumb” (her words, not Riley’s), but his emotions where as human as they came. Riley had realized that while listening to Sexy’s stories and when she met Sexy’s Thief it just drove the point home. The Doctor was the most human alien ever.   
As she stated this, in not so many words, as an answer to Harriet’s question all three of them turned to look at her. Rose was wearing a strange sort of face; as if she completely understood what Riley meant but then again not really. Harriet just looked more confused. But the doctor... he looked almost scared for half a second. Never before during the day had he seemed so transparent to Riley. 

Then he seemed to shake it off and his face closed off again.

“Can I have a bit of hush?” He said and turned back to the aliens. 

The whole episode had lasted for about two seconds but Riley had seen it and it made her wonder. If she had the time she would sit down and ponder this but she figured that maybe the human-hunting aliens should take precedence. 

“Sorry.” Harriet said but then turned back to Rose clearly still full of questions. 

“So, what’s the plan?” The doctor continued his impromptu interrogation.

“But he's got a Northern accent.” Harriet stated slightly quieter to Rose.

“Lots of planets have a north.” The blonde answered with an almost apologetic tone. Clearly she was sympathising with the MP having gone through something similar when she first met the Doctor. 

“I said hush.” The Doctor sounded almost like he was scolding a child but was doing it in a great hurry. “Come on. You've got a spaceship hidden in the North Sea. It's transmitting a signal. You've murdered your way to the top of government. What for,   
invasion?”

Murdered their way to the top? Isn’t that just a tad bit too ambitious? Riley wondered how many people that had to die in order for them to get where they were today. Aside from the prime minister there clearly had been others; as Harriet had witnessed earlier. How many people had to die for the aliens to accomplish whatever they were after? 

“Why would we invade this God-forsaken rock?” Deterrent sneered, or at least that’s what Riley thought he did, it was difficult to tell seeing as these green people had barely any facial expressions. Could they not move their facial muscles? Or perhaps they did not have any? Far be it for her to judge alien anatomy but did these people have no expressions at all at their disposal? It rather made them look like dolls; big green dolls with no soul in them. 

“Then something's brought the Slitheen race here. What is it?” The Doctor ploughed on determined to find out their motives and goal. 

“The Slitheen race?” Deterrent asked tauntingly. 

“Slitheen is not our species. Slitheen is our surname. Jocrassa Fel Fotch Pasameer-Day-Slitheen at your service.” Gaston told them with evident pride. 

Jocrassa Fel Fotch Pasameer-Day-Slitheen? That was a very long name. Riley preferred to call him Gaston; much simpler. Or was that disrespectful of his culture? 

“So, you’re family?” The doctor verified trying to get the pieces to fit together.

“A family business.” Gaston, or Jocrassa, confirmed proudly. 

“Then you're out to make a profit. How can you do that on a God-forsaken rock?” The Doctor asked.

Profit? It was all about the profit, wasn’t it? Always about the profit. Is that all that humans... aliens... people can think about? Riley felt that this was a rather depressing turn of events. An alien invasion, or whatever, and it still were about money. She would have preferred a more exotic goal, something a little less close to home, but then again she supposed it was something to tie them all together. Greed, it would seem, was apparently a universal thing. 

“Ah, excuse me? Your device will do what? Triplicate the flammability?” Deterrent interrupted.

“Is that what I said?” The Doctor hedged nervously and Riley almost sighed.

“If you are going to threaten somebody, do it right. Don’t go ahead and forget what you threatened them with!” She burst out annoyed. Honestly! 

She heard Rose stifle a giggle at that and Harriet was clearly smiling. 

“You’re making it up.” Deterrent apparently had arrived at a conclusion.

“Ah, well! Nice try. Harriet, have a drink. I think you're going to need it.” The Doctor said, almost bashfully, and handed the decanter over his shoulder toward Harriet. 

“You pass it to the left first.” Harriet said, as if etiquette rules were of major importance at the moment, and the Doctor didn’t miss a beat.

“Sorry.” He handed it over his left shoulder instead and gave it to Rose.

“Thanks.” Rose accepted the decanter, having to let go of Riley in the process, and clutched it tightly. Things were getting a tad bit tense now that there was no threat, however empty, to keep as a wall between the Slitheen’s and the four of them. 

“Now we can end this hunt with a slaughter.” Deterrent proclaimed gleefully and all three of them started closing in. 

“Don’t you think we should run?” Rose asked the Doctor nervously and started backing up a bit. She made sure that Riley backed up with her while standing in front of the twelve year old. Riley would have commended the blonde for her bravery but the Doctor started talking again before she got a chance to. 

“Fascinating history, Downing Street.” The Doctor was saying, sounding as if he were in full out lecture mode, and going by the sound of his voice Riley knew he was smiling (even though his back was turned to her). “Two thousand years ago, this was marsh land. 1730, it was occupied by a Mister Chicken. He was a nice man. 1796, this was the Cabinet Room. If the Cabinet's in session and in danger, these are about the four safest walls in the whole of Great Britain. End of lesson.”

He reached out and opened up a panel by the door that none of them had noticed before and pressed a button. Suddenly thick metal shutters slammed down across windows and doors; one of them slamming down right in front of them cutting the Slitheen’s off from entering the room. Riley looked around and laughed.

“Always the man with the plan, eh?” She asks the Doctor who smiles widely. “You are much better than my history teacher, more interesting too.”

“Installed in 1991. Three inches of steel lining every single wall. They'll never get in.” He explained and spread his arms wide as if daring them to try. 

“And how do we get out?” Rose asked and Riley paused. There was a question. 

The Doctor seemed to have realized it as well because he just stopped and if he had been a lesser man Riley thought he probably would have blushed.

“Ah.”

Well, it seemed that they weren’t going anywhere anytime soon. At least the room was safe. What more could a girl ask for in an alien-occupied government building?


	7. Mickey the Idiot lends a hand

Riley looks around in the cabinet room, unsure of what to do, and in the end sits down at the table. The young man from before, the one that Bambi killed, is still laying on the floor and next to him is the prime minister. Riley does her very best not to look at them; aliens is one thing but dead bodies? Just the fact that these people were alive, that she had watched one of them die, and that they were no more was awful. Such a waste.

The Doctor seems to agree; when he looks over in their direction his face turns dark.

“Did they kill them?” He asks as he walks closer to them.

“Yeah.” Rose answers sadly. “The younger one… he, uh, died just now. One of those Slitheen killed him.”

“She would have killed us too had we not run away.” Harriet says, equally sad, and walks up next to the Doctor.

“Let’s move them.” The Doctor says and Harriet nods.

They each grab a hold of the prime minister, the Doctor at his head and Harriet his feet, and start to lift him toward a cupboard that Rose opened for them. Riley stands up as they pass and if she was wearing a hat she would have taken it off; it felt strangely like a funeral procession watching them carry the body.

After they put the prime minister in the cupboard they take the younger man to do the same thing with him. 

“What was his name?” The doctor asks suddenly. 

“Which one?” Harriet asks as they deposit the younger man’s body next to the prime minister.

“This one - the secretary or whatever he was called.” He gestures. Harriet stops and looks at the body.

“I don't know. I talked to him. I brought him a cup of coffee. I never asked his name.” She answers sadly, as if it was a great regret, and watches as the Doctor crosses the young man’s hands over his body. 

Riley pause at this, realizing that she doesn’t know the man’s name either, and decides to do something about that. He was the first (and hopefully last) person she ever saw die. Knowing his name just seemed very important somehow. She walks past Harriet and into the cupboard and the Doctor who was on his way out stops and watch. Riley bends down and starts going through the dead man’s pockets.

“What are you doing?” Harriet asks horrified.

But Riley doesn’t answer, too busy to even care, and keep going through his pockets. Finally she finds what she is looking for in his left breast pocket on his jacket. She takes out his wallet and opens it.

“Indra Ganesh.” She says. “That was his name.”

She put back his wallet and stands up again. Putting her hands together in front of her chest she prays for Indra, to whichever God that might be listening, that wherever he may be he was safe. Riley was not really a believer of gods, her aunt had told her that religion was for those who needed it and she had thought that she was in need of it, but she did believe that there was something out there; something good, or at the very least, something not entirely bad. And to this entity she prayed for the soul of Indra Ganesh. 

She did not see the look of surprise on the Doctor’s face nor that Harriet Jones was sending of her own prayer. 

Once done she walked out of the cupboard and sat down at the table again. 

“Right, what have we got? Any terminals? Anything?” The Doctor asks as he comes out after her.

“No. The place is antique.” Rose answers and shrugs her shoulders. “What I don't get, is when they killed the Prime Minister, why didn't they use him as a disguise?”

“He's too slim - they're big old beasts, they need to fit inside big humans.” The Doctor explains and Riley can’t help but snort.

“They’re too big to fit inside any human.” She says.

“Yeah, they are about 8 feet, how do they squeeze inside?” Rose nods her head.

“That's the device around their necks - compression field - literally shrinks them down a bit. That's why there's all that gas, it's a big exchange.” The Doctor replies.

He really seems to have an answer for everything, doesn’t he? Sexy had said he was smart. Riley couldn’t help but wonder what that was like. Always knowing almost everything all the time? Doesn’t that just kind of take away all the fun in life? 

“Wish I had a compression field, I could fit a size smaller.” Rose joked trying to lighten the tensions and Riley laughed.

“You don’t need to. You’re fine the way you are.” She told the blonde who smiled at her.

“Excuse me, people are dead, this is not the time for making jokes.” Harriet interrupts.

Yes, they were dead. Riley realized that Harriet was right but at the same time... being all serious and sombre is just too tiring and they had more pressing matters. They could all mourn and all that jazz after the crisis had been averted, which, speaking of, Riley looked over at the Doctor. He seemed to be busy using that blue light from his stick to check over the walls but Riley had no doubt that he was listening.

“Sorry... you get used to this stuff when you're friends with him.” Rose tried to explain herself sounding a bit chastened and gesturing to the Doctor.

“Well, that's a strange friendship.” Harriet said almost suspiciously.

“Not really.” Riley interrupted. “It’s just not something that you personally could understand if you’re not a part of it.”

And it really wasn’t, in fact, Riley wasn’t sure she understood it. To her it seemed that the two, Rose and the Doctor, had a friendship that went slightly beyond what most people had. She didn’t how to explain it but... they seemed to belong together, in some mysterious sense. Riley had noticed how the Doctor didn’t let go of Rose while they were running earlier and she had to blind not to see how Rose kept glancing over at him – as if making sure he was still there. Whatever it was; it was deep and Riley thought that it wasn’t up to Harriet to judge it, even if she meant no harm and was just overwhelmed. 

“Harriet Jones - I've heard that name before - Harriet Jones. You're not famous for anything, are you?” The Doctor spoke up. He a look on his face as he tried to remember.

“Ha, hardly.” Harriet laughed. 

“Rings a bell, Harriet Jones...” The Doctor trailed off.

“Lifelong back bencher I'm afraid, and a fat lot of use I'm being now - the protocols are redundant, they list the people who can help and they're all dead downstairs.” Harriet explained and gestured to the papers that she had been going over earlier.

So much for her precious protocols then. Riley supposed it was up to them to come up with something else though what she had no idea. 

“Hasn't it got like, defence codes and things? Can we just launch a nuclear bomb at them?” Rose asks and mimics shooting off a missile with her hands.

Well, there is an idea. When all else fails there’s always the good old traditional fall back; bombs. It felt rather unoriginal though and Riley was a little uncertain about who exactly they would be shooting missiles at. The aliens were in Downing Street after all. Should they blow up Downing Street? With themselves in it? Or maybe blow up their ship? Did they even have? They must have, how else would they have gotten to Earth? Riley was starting to wish that she had just stayed in Sexy rather than coming here. At least there things weren’t so complicated. 

“You’re a very violent young woman.” Harriet tells Rose, though she clearly doesn’t mean it as an insult.

“I’m serious!” Rose argues. “We could!”

“Well, there's nothing like that in here. Nuclear strikes do need a release code, yes, but it's kept secret by the United Nations.” Harriet explains to them. 

The Doctor stops looking over the wall, well mantelpiece actually (although what he was looking for there, Riley didn’t know), and turns around to face the three of them. 

“Say that again.” He tells Harriet.

“What, about the codes?” She asks uncertain.

“Anything. All of it.” He replies and Riley suspects that he isn’t really interested in the information but rather hearing Harriet say it. 

“Um, well... the British Isles can't gain access to atomic weapons without a special resolution from the UN.” Harriet says and Riley gets the distinct impression that she doesn’t agree with it.

“Like that’s ever stopped them.” Neither does Rose apparently.

“Exactly, given our past record - and I voted against that, thank you very much.” Harriet exclaims. “The codes have been taken out of the governments hands and given to the UN.”

“So if the British Isles want to use the atomic weapons they have to what... have UN: s permission or something?” Riley asks just to make clear.

“Something like that, yes.” Harriet nods confirming her question. 

“Is it important?” She turns to the Doctor.

“Everything’s important.” He answers in deep thought and Harriet sighs.

“If we only knew what the Slitheen wanted.” She slumps over a bit but then pauses. “Listen to me; I'm saying 'Slitheen' as if it's normal.”

“What do they want though?” Rose asks no one in particular.

“Well, it's just one family so it's not an invasion. They don't want Slitheen world... they're out to make money, which means they want to use something, something here on Earth... some kind of asset.” The Doctor starts to think out loud, processing what he learnt earlier, and the three women lean in further.

“Like what? Gold? Oil? Water?” Harriet starts to list off.

“You’re very good at this.” The Doctor smiles at her and Harriet takes the compliment for what it is pleased.

“Thank you.”

“Harriet Jones – why do I know that name?” The Doctor goes off on a tangent again but before he gets any further Rose’s phone rings. 

“Oh, that’s me.” She says and digs it up from her pocket.

“But we're sealed off. How did you get a signal?” Harriet asked bewildered and Riley was inclined to agree with her. 

“He zapped it.” She pointed at the Doctor. “Super phone.”

“That’s handy.” Riley commented. Not that she had any personal experience mind you; her aunt wouldn’t let her get a mobile phone saying she was too young. 

“Then we can phone for help.” Harriet said excitedly and turned to the Doctor. “You must have contacts.”

“Dead downstairs, yeah.” He nodded. 

“I’m sorry for you loss.” Riley said solemnly. Had it been any other situation she would have walked up to him and taken a hold of his hand but she somehow doubted that the sentiment would be appreciated at the moment. The Doctor nodded to her but otherwise didn’t comment.

“It’s Mickey.” Rose said, still looking at her phone. 

“Oh, tell your stupid boyfriend we're busy.” The Doctor burst out annoyed.

“Be nice.” Riley interrupted before he got any further. “My aunt always said you don’t knock on someone when they’re not there to defend themselves from it.”

“Smart woman.” Harriet agreed. “Does she know where you are?”

“Not really. At least, I don’t think so. She did see me get taken by the police along with these two though.” Riley answered honestly. Poor Aunt Sarah must be very worried and her boyfriend Jared would be pacing right about now; he never liked it when things got out of control. 

“Yeah, Mickey is not so stupid after all.” Rose calls back the attention to her again and shows them a picture on her phone that Mickey must have sent her.

“Is that a Slitheen?” Harriet asks and stands up to get a closer look. 

It was indeed one of those green big bodied alien people. It was all covered in electricity, like Bambi had been right after she killed Indra, and even though the picture was small and kind of blurry (Mickey clearly had been shaking when he took it, or at the very least in a hurry though she could hardly fault him for that) Riley could see what looked like an apartment in the background. 

“Call him.” The Doctor ordered and Rose pressed some buttons on her phone. 

“They’re everywhere.” Harriet sighed and sat down again. 

“Well, they have been here for a while according to the Doctor. They’ve had time to spread out, haven’t they?” Riley told her.

“Your aunt must be worried about you.” The older woman suddenly said and half-turned toward her. “How old are you?”

“Twelve.” Riley answered in truth. “It’s been a hectic day, I’m telling you.”

“I can imagine.” She said understandingly. “But why are you here? I mean; those two I kind of understand but you? How did you get involved?”

“I made a new friend.” Riley said suddenly feeling a bit more cheerful. Sexy may not have been human, she was a machine and everything, but she was a friend. She would still be parked out in the yard at Powel Estate though... 

“A friend?” Harriet asked clearly not following. But before any of them could go on any further Rose interrupted.

“Mickey!” She called out into her phone’s receiver. “Finally!”

Riley listened to the one-sided conversation between Rose and Mickey as the later explained what had happened in silence. So one of these alien people had attacked Mrs. Tyler and Mickey had saved the day? Not exactly as useless as the Doctor make him out to be, is he. 

“Is she all right, though? Don't put her on, just tell me.” Rose asked clearly worried for her mother’s safety. 

Weather Mrs. Tyler was alright or not Riley wasn’t sure but before the conversation could continue the Doctor snapped the phone out of Rose’s hand and started talking to Mickey himself. 

“Is that Ricky? Don't talk, just shut up and go to your computer.” He ordered and Riley nearly laughed. They were locked in a secure cabinet room surrounded by aliens yet he still insisted on getting Mickey’s name wrong! She knew he knew it! No way a man that smart and cocky forget one person’s name that quickly after so many reminders.

She didn’t hear what Mickey said on the other line but the Doctor’s answer told her plenty. 

“Mickey the Idiot, I might just choke before I finish this sentence, but, er, I need you.”

“Wow.” Riley said quietly to Harriet who leant closer to hear her. “That one must have hurt.”

“They don’t get along these two, then?” She asked with half a smile on her face.

“It is what my aunt would call a male dominance battle... whatever that means. I recognize the symptoms.” Riley confided in the older woman who looked between Rose and the Doctor and then at the phone it the Doctor’s hand.

“I see.” She said and they both shared a grin. 

“I don’t think any of them have realized it yet, though. But it’s fun to watch, isn’t it?” Riley whispered.

“You are very wise for someone so young, my friend.” Harriet whispered back.

Before they can continue their discussion the Doctor leans over the table and does something to the phone; connecting it to some speaker or other.

“Say again.” He tells Mickey who now can be heard by all of them when he answers.

“It's asking for the password.”

“Buffalo. Two Fs, one L.” The Doctor answers confident that he is right. Being a Time Lord and everything he is a supreme being as far as humans are concerned, meaning higher sense of hearing, and he had heard the two women on the other side of the table talking to each other. Was it true? Was he competing with Rickey the idiot about Rose? He wouldn’t... would he? Really? What would they know? He only just met the two of them today! What right did they have to make assumptions like that? Riley was only twelve, did she even know what she was talking about? No! No chance of that being right! He hadn’t even known Rose for all that long either. It just wasn’t true...

Was it really that obvious?

Riley could hear Mickey typing on the other end of the line and there was a muffled sound as if someone else was talking.

“All the secret information known to mankind.” Mickey said, answering someone who was obviously Mrs. Tyler. “See, they've known about aliens for years. They just kept us in the dark.”

“Mickey, you were born in the dark.” The Doctor said rather rudely. 

“Oh, leave him alone.” Rose interrupted before another spat could break out. 

“Thank you.” Mickey told her and there was a small beep in the background. “Password again.”

“Just repeat it every time.” The Doctor answers before looking up at the three women around the table. “Big Ben - why did the Slitheen go and hit Big Ben?”

“You said to gather the experts, to kill them.” Harriet speculated.

“Such a waste, did they really have to destroy Big Ben for that? Surely a crash landing on a field would still have gathered attention?” Riley sighed. 

“Yeah, that lot would've gathered for a weather balloon. You don't need to crash land in the middle of London for that.” The Doctor nodded at her.

“The Slitheen are hiding, but then they put the entire planet on Red alert. What would they do that for?” Rose added what Mickey had said earlier in Sexy... in the TARDIS.

“Oh, listen to her.” Mrs. Tyler’s voice suddenly came out of the speaker and Riley realized that Mickey must have handed the phone over at some point.

“At least I’m trying.” Rose said back obviously slightly offended. 

“Well, I've got a question, if you don't mind.” Mrs. Tyler started to get going. “Since that man walked into our lives, I have been attacked in the streets. I have had creatures from the pits of hell in my own living room, and my daughter disappear off the face of the Earth.”

“I told you what happened.” Rose spoke up demurely, as if still feeling guilty about it.

“I'm talking to him.” Mrs. Tyler continued. “'Cos I've seen this life of yours, Doctor and maybe you get off on it, and maybe you think it's all clever and smart, but you tell me, just answer me this. Is my daughter safe?”

Riley could feel the atmosphere in the room dwindle with every word that came out of Mrs. Tyler’s mouth. She could see the Doctor’s face as he realized where she was going with her questions. She could see Harriet shrink back a bit as if bracing herself for something. And she could see Rose doing the same. Personally, Riley wasn’t all that bothered by it all. She knew that this was something she had no part in; it was a matter between Mrs. Tyler, Rose and the Doctor. Most importantly, a matter between Rose and the Doctor. Riley had seen it, that sparkle in Rose’s eyes as they were running for their life’s; the blonde enjoyed this. Just as much as the Doctor did. And Riley realized what this meant; there was no force in the world that would stop Rose from going off with the Doctor again after today... not even her mother. 

“I’m fine.” Rose meekly tried to abate her worried mother.

“Is she safe?” Mrs. Tyler asked again, ignoring her daughter. “Will she always be safe? Can you promise me that?”

Well, Riley thought, that’s a bit unfair isn’t it? No one can ever be always safe. The world just doesn’t work like that. 

“Well, what's the answer?” The woman was persisting.

Riley looked at the two people in question and saw them staring at each other with a sort of understanding and pleading in their eyes. Then suddenly there was a slight scuffle on the other end of the line and Mickey’s voice rung out into the room.

“We’re in.”


	8. Narrows it down

Riley can’t help but think that the Doctor maybe got off a bit easy. Judging by the look on his face, a look of relief, he did not agree with her. As soon as Mickey’s voice rung out in the cabinet room, announcing that he got in, the Doctor rushed around the table so that he stood closer to the receiver. 

“Now then, on the left at the top, there's a tab, an icon. Little concentric circles. Click on that.” He ordered and suddenly there was a beeping signal in the background.

“What is it?” Mickey asked on the other end and Riley could hear the sound increasing as if Mickey upped the volume.

“The Slitheen have got a spaceship in the North Sea and it's transmitting that signal. Now hush, let me work out what it is saying.” The Doctor answered and leaned in to hear better.

Riley could hear Mrs. Tyler saying something in the background but Mickey shushed her. She looked over at the Doctor who seemed to be concentrating deeply.

“It’s some sort of message.” He said and Riley put her focus back on the signal.

“What’s it say?” Rose asked.

“Don't know - it's on a loop, keeps repeating.” The Doctor answered.

Riley tried to hear it – the looping – but to her it all sounded the same. There was no way for her to tell the difference in the beeping sounds. Maybe the Doctor had superior hearing? Or he was just used to it. 

There was a sound in the background over the phone; like a doorbell.

“Hush!” The Doctor said impatiently.

“That’s not me.” Mickey explained. Riley heard him telling Mrs. Tyler on the other end to go see who it was at the door. It seemed like the elder woman was arguing at first before heading off which made Riley smile slightly. Never mind the alien crisis at hand; Mrs. Tyler would never change. There was something very comforting about that fact.

“It's beaming out into space.” The Doctor continued. “Who's it for?”

But before he could go on any further they heard Mrs. Tyler screaming over the phone in clear panic.

“It's him! It's the thing, it's the Slickeen!” She screamed and her voice echoed in the cabinet room over the speakers.

“They’ve found us.” Mickey hurriedly said over the phone and Riley could hear him getting up from his chair.

“Mickey! I need that signal!” The Doctor insisted and had he not been standing so far away from her she would have smacked him. Honestly! There were lives at stake here!

“Never mind the signal, get out! Mum!” Rose seemed to agree with her and the panic in her voice mirrored that of her mothers. “Just get out! Get out!”

“We can't. It's by the front door.” Mickey answered and Riley felt herself stiffen up, as if waiting for a blow, and held her breath. How where they going to get out of this one?

“Oh, my God, it's unmasking. It's going to kill us.” Mickey continued talking; his voice now slightly shaking.

“There's got to be some way of stopping them! You're supposed to be the expert, think of something!” Harriet suddenly burst out looking at the Doctor.

“I’m trying!” He replied hotly.

Over the phone they could hear Mickey telling Mrs. Tyler to run as he took care of it, obviously trying to protect the woman, and had the situation not been so dire Riley would have commended him for it. She looked over at the Doctor who seemed to be in deep thought and dearly hoped he could hurry it up a little. It sounded as if the two on the other end didn’t have much time left.

“That’s my mother.” Rose said as she looked at the Doctor with pleading eyes. Her unsaid plead appeared to jerk the Doctor out of whatever thoughts he was stuck in and he straightened up.

“Right.” He said and clapped his hands together. “If we're going to find their weakness, we need to find out where they're from. Which planet. So, judging by their basic shape, that narrows it down to five thousand planets within travelling distance. What else do we know about them? Information!”

Five thousand planets? Within travelling distance? He knew about all of those? On second thought; there were five thousand planets with creatures that looked like these? Thank God for planet Earth and Humans!

“They’re green.” Rose said, trying to get the flow started.

“Yep, narrows it down.” The Doctor said and nodded, waiting for more. Riley sat up a bit straighter and tried to focus her mind on the task at hand.

“Good sense of smell.” Rose added.

“Narrows it down.”

“They can smell adrenalin.” Rose kept going, desperately trying to think of more.

“Narrows it down.”

“What about the pig?” Riley spoke up. “I bet not all aliens could do that.”

“Narrows it down.”

“The spaceship in the Thames, you said slipstream engine?” Rose added and Riley paused. She had almost forgotten that.

“Narrows it down.” The Doctor confirmed.

“It’s getting in!” They heard Mickey on the phone.

“They hunt like it’s a ritual.” Rose came up with looking over at the other two women in the room while trying to come up with more.

“Narrows it down.”

“What about their names?” Riley asked. “Not every alien creature out there would have names like those, right? All long and complicated.”

“Narrows it down.” The Doctor seemed to be in deep calculations.

“Wait a minute.” Harriet suddenly spoke up. “Did you notice? When they fart, if you'll pardon the word, it doesn't just smell like a fart, if you'll pardon the word, it's something else. What is it? It's more like...”

“Bad breath!” Rose answered triumphantly.

“That’s it!” Harriet smiled.

“Calcium decay! Now, that narrows it down!” The Doctor said and straightened himself up from where he’d been leaning on the table just earlier.

“We're getting there, Mum!” Rose spoke into the receiver as the Doctor walked around rambling facts.

“Calcium phosphate. Organic calcium. Living calcium. Creatures made out of living calcium. What else? What else?” The Doctor went on trying to desperately think of some missing piece until he met Riley’s eyes and snapped his fingers. “Hyphenated surname. Yes! Thank you, Riley! That narrows it down to one planet. Raxacoricofallapatorius!”

Say what now? Was that even a word?

“Oh, yeah, great. We could write 'em a letter.” Mickey’s sarcastic response jolted them out of whatever reverie they’d been in at discovering these alien creatures home planet and the Doctor turned back to the receiver.

“Get into the kitchen!” He ordered them forcefully.

Riley heard Mrs. Tyler screaming in full panic in the background but the sound was muffled, as if she was some distance away from the phone, and she couldn’t make out what she said. Rather she decided to focus on the Doctor and see if he could manage to save these two even from such a long distance using only his mind and a phone. He truly was as amazing as Sexy had said he was.

“Calcium, weakened by the compression field. Acetic acid. Vinegar!” The Doctor was rambling off facts again that didn’t make a single sense to Riley.

“Just like Hannibal!” Harriet laughed; clearly she had understood what the mad man was on about. 

An amazing mad man with a box; that about sums him up nicely. 

“Just like Hannibal. Mickey, have you got any vinegar?” The Doctor asked.

“How should I know?” Mickey answered and Riley had to roll her eyes. Boys!

“It’s your kitchen.” The Doctor retaliated.

“Cupboard by the sink, middle shelf.” Rose spoke up but was in effect ignored as the phone seemed to switch hands and suddenly Mrs. Tyler’s voice rang out loud and clear in the room.

“What do you need?” She asked and Riley privately thought that Mrs. Tyler handled her fear very well; there was no sign of it now, when she had a goal.

“Anything with vinegar!” The Doctor answered.

“Gherkins. Yeah, pickled onions. Pickled eggs.” They could Mrs. Tyler count off the things she found that contained vinegar over the phone and Riley nearly made a face at the choice of food that Mickey seemed to stock in his kitchen.

“And you kiss this man?” The Doctor seemed to agree with her.

Rose was on her way of retaliating, Riley could tell, but before anyone had any chance of saying anything else they heard a large bang from the other end of the phone. It would seem that the Slitheen had broken down the door. Riley listened with baited breath as she heard Mrs. Tyler put the phone down and there was a sound of her throwing a bucket of something (vinegar, Riley would assume). There was a second where nothing was heard before a loud explosion echoed over the receiver. 

“Huh.” Riley stated once it was clear that Mrs. Tyler and Mickey were safe. “Vinegar is a lot more deadly than you’d think.”

Rose gave a shaky laugh at that before turning to Harriet.

“Hannibal?” 

“Yeah, what was that about?” Riley added. “I didn’t get that.”

“Hannibal crossed the Alps by dissolving boulders with vinegar.” Harriet explained and poured a glass of port which she then handed to Rose. The Doctor already had one in his hand.

“Oh. Well, there you go then.” Rose said and took the glass gratefully to have a sip. “Sorry, Riley. You’re underage and all.”

“That’s okay. That stuff tastes weird anyway.” She answered and wrinkled her nose.

“How would you know?” The Doctor asked after having emptied his glass in one go. “Been drinking alcohol behind your aunt’s back, have you?”

“No!” Riley said and nearly stuck her tongue out before thinking better of it. “But Michael gave me a sip before when he was dating my aunt. Aunt Sarah was not pleased when she found out.”

“I’ll bet.” The Doctor said with a small smile.

They all decompressed a bit more, the worst of the situation seemingly behind them, and Riley was just thinking about asking the Doctor what they should do next when Mickey’s voice floated back to them through the receiver. 

“Listen to this.” He said and suddenly there were more voices over the phone that seemed to come from a television.

“... our inspectors have searched the sky above our heads and they have found massive weapons of destruction capable of being deployed within forty five seconds.”

“What?” The Doctor asked the room in general and Riley leaned in closer.

“Our technicians can baffle the alien probes, but not for long.” The voice continued and Riley suddenly realised that it was Gaston, or whatever his real name was, who was speaking. “We are facing extinction, unless we strike first.”

“What is he on about?” Riley asked confused. “What’s the plan?”

“The United Kingdom stands directly beneath the belly of the mother ship. I beg of the United Nations, pass an emergency resolution. Give us the access codes. A nuclear strike at the heart of the beast is our only chance of survival.” Gaston went on. “Because from this moment on it is my solemn duty to inform you planet Earth is at war.”

“He's making it up.” The Doctor exclaimed. “There are no weapons up there, there's no threat. He just invented it.”

“Do you think they'll believe him?” Harriet asked worried. 

“They did last time.” Rose answered in a small voice.

“That's why the Slitheen went for spectacle. They want the whole world panicking, because you lot, you get scared, you lash out.” The Doctor said in an odd sort of voice; as if he was on the verge of working something out, like it was just beyond his reach and maybe if he kept talking he’d get there.

“They release the defence code...” Rose started saying but it was the Doctor who finished-

“...and the Slitheen go nuclear.”

“But why?” Harriet asked the one question that was weighing in Riley’s mind. But instead of answering the Doctor walked away from the table and back to the door where he pressed a button on the control panel that opened the shutters.

On the other side of the shutters was Bambi, back in her human suit, who turned to face him.

“You get the codes, release the missiles, but not into space because there's nothing there. You attack every other country on Earth. They retaliate, fight back. World War Three. Whole planet gets nuked.” The Doctor summarized what he’d realised and Riley felt an odd jolt at the thought of another world war. This whole situation suddenly seemed so much more serious than it had before.

“And we can sit through it safe in our spaceship waiting in the Thames. Not crashed, just parked. Only two minutes away.” Bambi answered tauntingly. 

“Parked?” Riley scoffed. “What? They don’t teach you driver’s ed where you’re from? Does crashing into big clocks and sinking in rivers equal ‘parking’ on your planet?”

Obviously, mocking an angry alien with huge claws is not a good idea. Riley suspected that the only reason Bambi didn’t gut her right there was because the Doctor stood between them. It certainly looked like she wanted to. Luckily you can always count on an MP to diversify your attention; or in this case, the attention of the one who wants to rip you apart.

“But you'll destroy the planet, this beautiful place. What for?” Harriet asked all confused.

Harriet was into politics, was she not? How can she not know that there some people out there who simply are evil? Just look at what they did to that poor pig! Oh, yes, Riley hadn’t forgotten that. Oh, also, they had killed several humans to get to this place had they not? Can’t forget those either.

“Profit.” It was the Doctor who answered. “That's what the signal is beaming into space. An advert.”

“The sale of the century. We reduce the Earth to molten slag, then sell it piece by piece. Radioactive chucks, capable of powering every cut-price star liner and budget cargo ship. There's a recession out there, Doctor. People are buying cheap. This rock becomes raw fuel.” Bambi explained mockingly.

“I hate money.” Riley whispered softly. Money always made things worse. She felt Rose reach out to grab her hand again and she felt somewhat relieved by gesture. At least not all people were bad.

“At the cost of five billion lives.” It was back again. That silent fury in the Doctor’s voice that Riley had heard earlier in the mortuary with the pig. The fury that promised retribution. Bambi didn’t seem to hear it though, or else she just ignored it.

“Bargain.” She said, as if that explained everything.

“I give you a choice. Leave this planet or I'll stop you.” The Doctor had moved past fury now and seemed to have stopped at resolution.

“What, you? Trapped in your box?” Bambi mocked again.

“Yes.” The Doctor answered and reached out for the button again. “Me.”

The shutters closed.

Riley wasn’t entirely sure how long they waited in the cabinet room. After having had a short chat with Bambi the Doctor sat down and said nothing. Rose talked on and off with her mother and boyfriend (were they still? Riley had no idea) over the still open phone line and Harriet seemed to be in deep thought. Riley was just concentrating hard on not falling asleep.

It seemed like forever until Mickey put the phone next to the television again so that they could hear what went on outside.

“Yesterday saw the start of a brave new world. Today might see it end. The streets are deserted. Everyone's home, just waiting, as the future is decided in New York.” A news reporter was saying.

Yesterday? Really? It was a new day? How long had it been since coming to Downing Street anyway? Aunt Sarah had to be so worried about her. 

“It's midnight here in New York. The United Nations has gathered. England has provided them with absolute proof that the massive weapons of destruction do exist.” The reporter continued.

“But they don’t, do they?” Harriet sighed forlornly. “It’s starting to look somewhat grim.”

“Starting to?” Riley asked half way through a yawn. “I think it’s been grim every since that ship crashed into Big Ben to begin with.”

“You should get some sleep.” Harriet said, suddenly well aware how young the girl truly was. It seemed to slip her mind.

“So should you.” Riley retaliated tiredly.

“The Security Council will be making a resolution in a matter of minutes, and once the codes are released, humanity's first interplanetary war begins.” Another reporter was saying in the background. 

“All right, Doctor.” Mrs. Tyler’s voice suddenly rung out from the receiver. “I'm not saying I trust you, but there must be something you can do.”

“If we could ferment the port, we could make acetic acid.” Harriet suggested half-heartily with no real vigour.

“Mickey, any luck?” Rose asked.

“There's loads of emergency numbers. They're all on voicemail.” Mickey answered.

“Voicemail dooms us all.” Harriet sighed again and Riley giggled slightly; she didn’t know if it was because she was tired or if the situation made her lose it a bit but... that just sounded funny to her. Maybe she should get some sleep? But how could she?

“If we could just get out of here.” Rose said annoyed and looked around; as if a way out would suddenly appear.

“There's a way out.” The Doctor spoke up, first time in hours (it seemed that way to Riley), and looked over at Rose.

“What?” The blonde asked not entirely sure she understood.

“There's always been a way out.” The Doctor continued but there was something off. The way he was looking at Rose, the way his voice seemed to reverberate even though he spoke quietly, it just seemed off; almost like he was... afraid.

“Then why don't we use it?” Rose asked unable to see what he meant.

“Because I can't guarantee your daughter will be safe.” The Doctor answered, not Rose, but Mrs. Tyler even though Rose had been the one to ask. 

Riley realised that the Doctor, the amazing mad man with a box, was thinking about the question that Mrs. Tyler had asked earlier. The one he’d avoided answering. The one that Riley already knew the answer to. 

Suddenly the air in the room appeared heavier and Riley had to steel herself against the unspoken fear that welled up inside her. If the Doctor was worried... then... it really didn’t look too good, did it?

“Don't you dare. Whatever it is, don't you dare.” Mrs. Tyler protested on the other end.

“That's the thing. If I don't dare, everyone dies.” The Doctor tried to explain himself to the irate mother. 

“Do it.” Rose said, calling all attention to her.

“You don't even know what it is. You'd just let me?” The Doctor asked, appearing to be both amazed and astounded by her loyalty. 

“Yeah.” Rose half laughed half breathed.

Riley smiled. They really were something else, these two. It made her almost envious. 

“Please.” Mrs. Tyler was begging in the background. “Doctor. Please. She's my daughter. She's just a kid. And what about Riley, huh? She’s even younger! What about her aunt?”

Riley started at that. Yeah, what about her aunt? The Doctor was looking over at her, a profound sorrow in his eyes that nearly made her lose her breath, before turning back to the receiver.

“Do you think I don't know that? Because this is my life, Jackie. It's not fun, it's not smart, it's just standing up and making a decision because nobody else will.” He said desperately wanting to make her understand.

“Then what're you waiting for?” Rose asked quietly. The blonde looked over at Riley who nodded her head; she knew the question in Rose’s eyes. Rose turned back to the Doctor. “Do it. We’re ready.”

“I trust you.” Riley said. “I know it’s weird and kind of stupid. I only just met you yesterday! But I do trust you. And more to the point, I trust Rose.”

“I could save the world but lose you.” The Doctor sounded like he was pleading now. “Both of you.”

“Except it's not your decision, Doctor. It's mine.” Harriet had been listening to this emotional filled conversation between her companions and it made her heart ache; the way the Doctor’s voice seemed to crack at the thought of losing Rose. Riley had been right; their relationship was something she didn’t understand but that didn’t make it any less deep. And speaking of the twelve year old; her trust in her friends was unyielding. Such a brave lot; these three. Well, Harriet refused to lose to them and decided that she could, maybe, lighten the Doctor’s burden by taking the choice from him.

“And who the hell are you?” Mrs. Tyler demanded to know.

“Harriet Jones, MP for Flydale North. The only elected representative in this room, chosen by the people for the people. And on behalf of the people, I command you. Do it.” Harriet ordered and the Doctor lit up.

“Harriet Jones.” He said laughing.

“How do we get out?” Rose asked as the Doctor ran around the table in order to get to the emergency protocols.

“We don't. We stay here.” He answered and starting going through the papers while simultaneously giving Mickey instructions on what to do. “Use the buffalo password. It overrides everything.”

“We're in. Here it is. HMS Taurean, Trafalgar Class submarine, ten miles off the coast of Plymouth.” Mickey told them and Riley found herself wondering what exactly it was that they wanted to do.

“Right, we need to select a missile.” The Doctor said and Riley started feeling that heaviness again. A missile? To aim for what?

“We can't go nuclear. We don't have the defence codes.” Mickey protested.

“We don't need it. All we need's an ordinary missile.” The Doctor explained. “What’s the first category?”

“Sub Harpoon, UGM-A4A.” Mickey read of his screen.

“That’s the one. Select.” The Doctor nodded.

“This is crazy.” Riley burst out. “He can really access a missile through the internet like that? That’s lousy security!”

“I have to agree with you.” Rose said. “Though the Doctor did give him all the passwords.”

“Still.” 

“You ready for this?” The Doctor asked Mickey.

“Yeah.” Mickey answered although he sounded shaky. Riley didn’t blame him.

“Mickey the idiot, the world is in your hands.” The Doctor said with a baited breath. “Fire.”

Even though it wasn’t the best of connections, even though the receiver added some static noise over their conversations, even though Mickey’s phone was a slight distance away; Riley still heard the mouse click that fired a missile at them. 

“Oh my God.” They heard Mrs. Tyler exclaim terrified and they all knew; they were about to be bombed.

“How solid are these?” Harriet asked and looked around at the walls.

“Not solid enough. Built for short range attack, nothing this big.” The Doctor answered and Riley could see his brain hard at work trying to figure out how to survive this.

“All right, now I'm making the decision.” Rose said resolutely and stood up. “I'm not going to die. We're going to ride this one out. It's like what they say about earthquakes. You can survive them by standing under a doorframe.”

She walked over to the cupboard that they had put the dead bodies of Indra and the prime minister in. 

“Now, this cupboard's small so it's strong. Come and help me. Come on.” She said hurriedly and Harriet went over to help.

Riley stayed by the table, her small stature not to mention that she was exhausted meant that she wasn’t going to be much use anyway, and watched as the Doctor continued to listen for Mickey. 

“We’re going to be okay.” She said, causing him to look at her. “And even if we’re not; it’s still okay.”

“No. It’s not.” He said and his shoulders sagged a little. 

“Yes. It is.” She argued and stood up to walk over to him. Once by his side she took his hand and squeezed. “It was our choice. Not yours. Our decision. We made up our minds and that’s that. Don’t go making this about you. Don’t take our choice away from us.”

The Doctor said nothing at first; he just looked at her, then down at their joined hands, then back at her and he smiled. It wasn’t a big smile, it wasn’t a smile that you smile while laughing; it was a smile you smiled when there is nothing else to do.

“Stubborn!” He said. “Both of you. I can see why the TARDIS likes you.”

“I like her too.” Riley answered. “If we survive I’d like to see her again.”

“I’m sure she’d want to see you too.” He leaned down so that their foreheads only were inches apart. “So wise for a twelve year old.”

“Hey!” She said indignant. “I’ll have you know that twelve is a very wise age to be!”

“I’m sure.” He laughed and probably would have said more but Mickey’s voice interrupted and he let go of her hand to focus on what the boy was saying.

“It's on radar.” Mickey told them. “Counter defence five five six.”

“Stop them intercepting it.” The Doctor ordered.

“I’m doing it now.” Mickey answered and they could hear typing in the background. 

“Good boy.” The Doctor complimented him and looked over at Rose and Harriet who were just about done clearing the cupboard.

“Five five six neutralised.” Mickey said and the Doctor unplugged the phone from the receiver before grabbing hold of Riley’s hand once more and together they walked over to the others.

The four of them make themselves as comfortable as possible in the small cupboard and Rose closes the door. Riley is seated between Harriet and the Doctor with Rose on the other side of the Doctor. Together they all hold hands and Riley closes her eyes tightly.

“Here we go. Nice knowing you all. Hannibal!” Harriet says and there are two seconds of absolute quiet before everything suddenly shakes.

Riley can’t remember there being any noise, as if by an explosion, though she is certain there must have been. But she can remember the shaking. It started as a rumble at first but it quickly escalated into something akin to an earthquake. The entire room shook and then it seemed like it had dislocated itself from the rest of the building and started rolling. The four of them were being cast around in the small room the same way she imagined a cat would be in a washing machine (the Henderson’s cat had once snuck into their washing machine while no one was looking; it survived, mainly because Mrs. Henderson realised and shut the machine off just ten minutes into the wash, but refused to ever enter the bathroom again). Once it stopped and Riley had time to actually feel her body she thought she must just look like one big bruise. 

The Doctor was the first to recover and helped first Rose and then Riley up to their feet. Harriet managed to get up on her own but the steel doors were too heavy for her to open so the Doctor had to use his manly strength (his words). Once they were open Harriet was the first to make it out.

“Made in Britain.” She laughed and slapped the cupboard which now looked more like a big steel box lying upside down in the rubble of what used to be Downing Street. 

Riley stumbled out after her and the light outside nearly blinded her before her eyes adjusted. She did see a soldier running up to them, looking all kinds of surprised, to make sure they were fine.

“Oh, my God. Are you all right?” He asked both worried and confused, no doubt he had no idea what was going on.

“Harriet Jones. MP, Flydale North.” Harriet, it appeared, had it well in hand. The soldier stood up at attention at her commanding tone. “I want you to contact UN immediately. Tell the ambassadors the crisis is over. They can step down. Go on, tell the news.”

“Yes, ma’am.” He saluted and ran off.

“Someone's got a hell of a job sorting this lot out. Oh, Lord. We haven't even got a Prime Minister.” Harriet seemed to realise, even though she’d already known that. 

“Maybe you should have a go?” The Doctor said with a smile and Riley nodded. She would be a good woman to have in charge.

“Me? Huh. I'm only a back-bencher.” She laughed at the idea, thinking it silly, and looked over at the crowding reporters and bystanders amassing further down the street.

“I’d vote for you.” Rose added.

“Now, don't be silly. Look, I'd better go and see if I can help. Hang on!” Harriet replied and walked over to the crowd.

The three of them watched her walk away all the while telling everybody that the Earth was safe. Riley smiled and hoped that Harriet Jones never would change; she was good the way she was right now.

“I thought I knew the name.” The Doctor spoke up calling their attention to him. “Harriet Jones, future Prime Minister. Elected for three successive terms. The architect of Britain's Golden Age.”

“No way.” Rose laughed. “Well, she’d be good for the job.”

“Perfect.” Riley agreed.

“Come on, you two. Time to get you home.” The Doctor said and they started walking the opposite direction from Harriet.

It had been a long night.


	9. Leave or stay, your decision

Riley knew that her aunt was most likely worried about her, having seen her been taken by police and everything, but still… she did not expect the exceedingly warm (not to mention stifling) welcome she received when she came home. In fact: she didn’t actually get home at all because her aunt was standing out at the yard along with Mrs. Tyler looking all kinds of relieved. Riley only just had time to notice Mickey standing off at the side before she found herself engulfed in the mother of all hugs.

“Riley! My baby!” Aunt Sarah sobbed and grabbed on to her school blazer with a fierce grip. “I was so worried.”

“Auntie, it’s okay. I’m all right.” Really, what are you supposed to say in a situation like this? She dimly noted that Rose was given a similar welcome by her mother of to her left.

“I didn’t know what to do! I didn’t know what was going on or why they took you…” Her aunt sounded like she was trying to explain something but cut herself off and finally released her only to look at her sternly. “You have a lot of explaining to do, young lady!”

“I will, I promise.” Riley assured her soothingly and watched in the corner of her eye as the Doctor wandered off. She realized he was probably going back to Sexy to give them some semblance of privacy and decided to use it well. “Why don’t we go inside and I’ll tell you all about my crazy day?”

Riley didn’t really tell her aunt everything. How could she? There was so much of it that just seemed too far out there for her aunt to understand. She couldn’t even begin to explain Sexy and their blossoming friendship and she decided to delicately leave out the dead bodies in fear of scaring her aunt too much. Riley told her about running into Rose along with her friend the Doctor earlier that morning (without mentioning where exactly) and how they had gotten talking. How the Doctor had some dubious history with the military (UNIT) and that he was an expert of sorts. She explained how the higher-up’s wanted his help with the alien “crash landing” and that she and Rose just sort of got caught up in it. It was all true just not… the entire truth. 

“Well, I’ll say… how irresponsible of them! Taking a child to Downing Street!”

Riley explained how the Doctor made sure to protect her while in Downing Street (which he did, just not the entire time) and how Rose stayed by her side. She made it sound like it simply was the fault of a stupid government (which it was) that was unable to handle itself properly in a time of crisis. 

Aunt Sarah bought it all. Hook, line and sinker. 

Riley felt somewhat guilty at that but it’s not like she had much of a choice. If her aunt learnt the true nature of her adventure she would never let her outside again! It was for the better. It had to be.

“Where is Jared?” After having explained the (almost true) story, Riley finally realized that it was rather quiet in the apartment.

“Oh, he’s at work. This whole episode has brought chaos to the city, what with aliens and Downing Street blowing up.” Sarah explained and got up to start a pot of coffee. She was supposed to be at work herself in about an hour.

“I suppose it would have.” Riley nodded.

Jared was an ambulance driver and a trained nurse at Royal Hope Hospital and no doubt the scare from earlier, when everybody thought that aliens were about to blow them all up (which was true, just a different set of aliens is all), caused all kinds of accidents and so on. It was like the Doctor said: humans lash out when they’re scared. Sarah herself had seen some scuffles just outside the estate while worrying for her niece.

“I’ve got work in an hour but I can stay home. You shouldn’t be alone after everything.” Sarah said. “You might have trauma.”

“Oh, it’s all right. Really, I’ll be fine.” Riley tried to convince her. “Besides, don’t you have some sort of important meeting today? I remember you mentioning it the day before yesterday.” 

“I really shouldn’t. What kind of a guardian would I be if I left you on your own after something like this?” She protested but Riley detected a slight shift in tone.

“You are a great aunt.” She intoned seriously. “And I won’t be alone. I could go over to the Tyler’s flat. I want to thank Rose for looking out for me anyway. I’m sure they won’t mind.”

“Are you sure? It’s just, alien invasion notwithstanding, it really is an important meeting… but if you want me to I’ll stay home. I promise. I could always reschedule…”

“Nonsense! I’ll be fine!” Riley insisted. She really needed to talk to the time-traveler’s anyway, about what to do next, and she knew that the meeting would be a tie-breaker if Sarah could pull it off.

She was a PR consultant working for one of those big-shot firms with clients all over the country and if she managed this one assignment she would get a promotion. Riley had overheard her aunt and Jared talking about it last weekend.

“Well… I suppose… let me just talk to Jackie first to make sure.” And thus Riley won.

It had not taken much convincing on Mrs. Tyler’s part to let Riley stay over for the day. Although Riley could sense a slight hint of disapproval from the blonde (after all, Riley had just been through something very traumatic and to dump her on the neighbour the very same day, well Mrs. Tyler obviously did not agree with her aunt’s priorities) but she said nothing. With a promise to ring her on her mobile if she suddenly wanted her aunt to come home, no matter what, Riley found herself alone with the Tyler’s. 

“Hey.” Rose greeted the twelve year old as they both positioned themselves on the couch. “What did you tell her?”

“The truth.” Riley admitted. “Granted not all of it. I may have edited some parts.”

“I bet you did.” Rose laughed softly. 

“She values her work.” Riley spoke up, startling the girl seated next to her. “She always has. That’s okay, I don’t mind, everybody need something to value.”

“I didn’t…” Rose tried to say but stopped herself. She did. She did wonder and probably would have asked. It just seemed so callous; to leave the girl here and go off to work after what happened.

“But you were thinking it.” Riley smiled. “Like I said, it’s okay. It’s not that she doesn’t love me or anything it’s just… Aunt Sarah is a very independent woman. She has Jared and I but she is still her own person. I understand that and I respect it.”

“You really are wise for your age, aren’t you?” Rose sighed.

“Not really. Just open-minded.” Riley responded with a cheeky grin. “Besides, she had an important meeting today that could get her a big promotion if she pulls it off. I was fine and the crisis was over so there really was no reason not to go, especially for such a good opportunity.” 

“If you say so, you know her best after all.” Rose conceded defeat and instead leaned over to grab the remote from the table.

It was nearing midday and the two women had barely moved from their spot in the sofa. They were watching a news transmission with Harriet Jones while Mrs. Tyler (“call me Jackie, dear”) was bustling around in the kitchen. Mrs. Tyl… Jackie had sat down earlier and had a serious talk with Riley about her aunt and how she had explained the events to her. Rose had told her mother the absolute truth, no editing required, and the elder woman wanted to know what she had said. Not to mention she wanted to, subtly at first before right-out asking, find out if they had any “family-problems”. You can say whatever you want about Jackie Tyler but the woman was a mother through and through and seeing the way Riley and her mother had interacted earlier had her almost worried. Riley managed to explain, to some degree, that there wasn’t any problems like that but she could tell that Jackie would stubbornly keep her eyes open from here on out. It made her feel sort of warm inside. Aunt Sarah was great, really no fault with her but… like she had told Rose; she was an independent woman and not really a mothering type. 

Riley felt strangely at ease with the Tyler’s in their flat; she didn’t know why. It was a bit like how she had felt with Sexy; like she belonged. At first she had put it off as simply the thrill of making a new friend but after meeting Sexy’s Thief she realized it was different from that, deeper somehow. No matter what it was; she liked it. 

“Mankind stands tall, proud…” Harriet was saying on the telly and Riley smiled. The woman really would do great as the Prime minister.

“Harriet Jones. Who does she think she is? Look at her, taking all the credit. Should be you on there. My daughter saved the world!” Jackie came back into the sitting room huffing. “And you, Riley. Honestly!”

“That’s okay; I don’t mind Harriet getting the credit.” Riley answered absentmindedly as she watched the future prime minister speak.

“Besides, it wasn’t just us. I think the Doctor helped a bit.” Rose added.

“All right, then. Him too. You three should be given knighthoods.” Jackie grumbled.

“Don’t you technically have to be of age for those?” Riley asked jokingly.

“That's not the way he does things. No fuss. He just moves on. He's not that bad if you gave him a chance.” Rose straightened up in the sofa and looked at her mother.

“He's good in a crisis, I'll give him that.” Jackie admitted and both the girl’s smiled at her.

“Oh, now the world has changed. You're saying nice things about him.” Rose teased.

“Well, I reckon I've got no choice. There's no getting rid of him since you're infatuated.” Jackie said and Riley had to stifle her giggles. She supposed that’s the way it looked and in a way it sort of was like that. She just felt that romance wasn’t quite it in the emotions spectrum concerning those two. But maybe it would grow into that later on, she didn’t know.

“I’m not infatuated!” Rose protested.

“What does he eat?” Jackie asked not even acknowledging her daughter’s response.

“How do you mean?” Rose answered slightly off kilter. What did that non-sequitur have to do with anything?

“I was going to do shepherd’s pie. All of us. A proper sit down, 'cos I'm ready to listen. I wanna learn about you and him and that life you lead. Only, I don't know, he's an alien. For all I know, he eats grass and safety pins and things.” Jackie said, sounding like she had thought it through.

“He'll have shepherd pie.” Rose answered with a small smile that quickly grew. “You're going to cook for him?”

“What’s wrong with that?” Jackie asked defensively.

“He's finally met his match.” Rose laughed.

“You're not too old for a slap, you know.” Jackie answered making Riley laugh. “You can go and visit your Gran tomorrow. You'd better learn some French. I told her you were in France. I said you were au-pairing.”

“That’s as good a story as any, I suppose.” Riley said thoughtfully. 

Just as Jackie walked back to the kitchen Rose’s phone rang. The blonde takes it out and looks at the caller-id. 

“Is that a TARDIS?” Riley asks intrigued.

Rose nods and answers. “Hello.”

Riley listens with half an ear as she stands up and walks to the window. Pushing apart the curtains she looks out at the estate yard and sees Sexy standing right where she’d been before. Riley looks between Rose and Sexy; making calculations in her head while trying to decide. In the end it’s no competition and Riley walks away from the window, ducks as she passes the kitchen and heads to the hallway where she puts on her shoes and leaves. Taking the stairs two at a time she bounds down to the ground floor and jogs across the yard toward Sexy. 

She stops right before her doors and contemplates whether to knock or not but in the end Sexy makes the decision for her and opens up the doors wide for her to enter. Smiling she walks inside and looks over at the Doctor, who is still on the phone with Rose, and waves. The Doctor nods at her but keeps talking to Rose, something about a plasma storm in a nebula (Riley honestly has no idea), and she walks past him and into the corridor that leads to the library. Riley knows that’s where Sexy will be waiting for her.

“You took your time, youngling.” Sexy greets her as soon as she steps inside the gigantic library. She still looks like Riley but her clothes are different; rather than the school uniform she’d been wearing before (that Riley was still wearing) she was dressed in a knee length blue (TARDIS blue) dress and she was barefoot. 

“Don’t call me that.” Riley grumbled. “And what’s with the outfit?”

“Oh, I decided that two of you dressed the same way was confusing. For you, obviously, not me. And besides; this looks good you.” Sexy answered with a teasing grin.

“Whatever you say.”

They both stood still for a few seconds, trying to decide the next step, until Riley grinned.

“Your thief is awesome.” She said.

“I know.” Sexy answered as if it should be obvious. “What do you think of his stray?”

“Oh, you mean Rose? I like her, always have, not that I know her particularly well but... why?” Riley said in all earnest.

“I suppose she’s… fine.” Sexy didn’t answer.

“I like Mickey too.” Riley added, curious about the response.

“Oh, yes, the pretty one.” Sexy smiled a very grown-up smile that Riley thought looked very strange on her face.

“Not just pretty, though I suppose he’s that, but smart and fun too. And he’s nice.” Riley said.

“That too.” Sexy agreed, as if by afterthought. Then she looked, really looked, over at Riley. “What do you want to happen now?”

“What do you mean?” Riley asked confused.

“Well, one my Thief gets his stray back we’ll leave, like always, to someplace that’s not here. I don’t know when we’ll be back.” Sexy answered and took a step closer.

“Oh.” Riley said. “I don’t know. I didn’t think of that.”

“No, you wouldn’t. But I did and so now I’m asking. What do you want to happen now?”

“Well, what can happen?” Riley asked unsure of the situation. 

“You can either stay here, with that aunt of yours, or come with.” Sexy answered.

“Granted…” A third voice suddenly spoke up behind Riley, making her gasp and turn around. In the doorway stood the Doctor, well more like leaned, and he was looking piercingly at her. “I’ve never had a companion so young before. Not one that wasn’t… well, you would be the first.”

“You would be okay with that?” Riley had to ask. They had just basically saved the world together but at the end of the day they didn’t really know all that much of each other.

“My ship seems to like you.” He said, glancing over her shoulder to the apparition that was his TARDIS. “I don’t really need anything else.”

“Well, it is tempting really, it is but… I don’t think my aunt would be okay with that.” Riley said in deep thought and then turned back to Sexy. “But I want to. You are my friend.”

“That’s okay.” Sexy said and smiled. “It’s not like we’ll never see each other again. I’m not letting go just because we are not at the same place together.”

The Doctor listened to his ship in wonder. Since when had the TARDIS become so… domesticated? He’d known she was alive, every TARDIS was sentient (they were, after all, grown not built), but that she was so… so alive! It was astounding. His ship was actually showing emotions for this little girl. Had befriended this little girl. What a weird day.

“And you’ll be back. Right?” Riley asked a little afraid.

“Well, his latest stray lives here so I’d assume so.” Sexy said, nodding toward the Doctor. “And even if she didn’t I’d still steer us here.”

“I’ll tell you what.” The Doctor spoke up again, having made a decision about this strange new development. “Do you have a phone?”

“No.” Riley answered. “My aunt says I’m too young.”

“No matter, I’ll give you one.” The Doctor said and started digging in his pockets. Riley watched in surprise as his hands went deeper and deeper inside the pockets until she was certain that his jacket must be like the Sexy; bigger on the inside. Finally he gave a triumphant ‘ha’ and produced a mobile phone which he proceeded to take apart. “I usually only give these to my traveling companions but… I’ll make an exception.”

She watched him fiddle with the phone some more, using that silvery stick of his again to buzz at it, before he put it back together. 

“Here.” He said and handed the mobile to her. “Now you’ll be able to phone the TARDIS anywhere and anytime. I also put in Rose’s number in there, just in case, she has a similar phone. Speed dial one is the TARDIS specifically.”

“Okay…” She answered and turned the phone over to look at it. It was one of those phones you could slide open and it was the same color blue as Sexy. Suddenly the phone lit up and started vibrating and a noise came out of the speakers; the same noise Sexy made whenever she was landing.

“Well, it works.” Sexy spoke up and turned to Riley. “I just sent you a text message.”

“You did?” Riley asked and looked back down on the phone. True to her word the phone was displaying a new message saying; ‘testing, testing’. “How original.”

“Well, sometimes original is the best way to go.” Sexy grinned.

“Thank you.” Riley said to the Doctor who smiled. 

“No worries. It’s specially made so that you never have to pay for any TARDIS-communication but if you text or phone your aunt for example you still have to pay for. Also you should never need to load it; it will draw on the TARDIS’s energy whenever there is communication between them.” He explained and then clapped his hands. “Now, if you ladies will excuse me, I have a graffiti artist to deal with.”

With that said he walked off and disappeared behind a corner. 

“So, basically we’re like pen pals now?” Riley asked Sexy. “Neat.”

“I’ll give you a heads up whenever we’re about to land someplace close. Maybe you could still come for daytrips or stay a weekend or something.”

“Like a proper sleepover? Do you think the Doctor would mind if we had a pillow fight?” Riley laughed.

“If they were his pillows.” Sexy laughed as well before sobering up a little. “When you’re older we’ll take you away and we could travel together.”

“I’m looking forward to it.” Riley smiled softly. “Until then I don’t mind this arrangement. I text often, yeah, and you’ll tell me whenever you’re in my time-zone?”

“Always.” Sexy answered with a grin. 

They stayed in the library just talking and socializing with each other for a while until Sexy said it was time to go. Sexy disappeared and Riley walked back to the console room where the Doctor was with Rose.

“I still say you packed too much.” She heard the Doctor grumble.

“There can never be too much.” Rose laughed and looked over to see Riley coming into the room. “Oh, so this is where you disappeared off to.”

“Yeah, I had to talk to someone. So you’re leaving again now?” Riley asked and walked up to the blonde.

“Yeah, And you? Are you coming with?” Rose answered. She wasn’t really sure what to feel about the girl; she was a brilliant young girl, that’s for sure, she didn’t freak out or anything despite all that she’d seen the last two days. But she was still a twelve year old little girl and Rose wasn’t sure if it was appropriate for someone like that to come along, especially considering the things that they could stumble upon. 

“No.” Riley smiled. “My aunt would never allow it. Maybe when I’m older. But the Doctor gave me this super-phone so that I’ll be able to keep in contact and everything. He also gave me your number, is that all right with you? If I call or something, I mean?”

“Yes, that’s fine. Brilliant in fact.” Rose smiled. “You can keep me updated on things back home and I’ll keep you updated on things here. Perfect.”

“Yes, it is, isn’t?” Riley laughed.

“Okay you two, enough talking. I’m ready to leave.” The Doctor interrupted and made a shooing motion with hands to Riley. “If you don’t want to come along you better leave now.”

“All right, you, I’m leaving.” Riley giggled and started walking toward the door. “I’ll stay in touch.”

“You better.” Rose said and waved. “I’ll see you when I see you.”

“Yeah, will do. Bye.” Riley waved one final time and walked out of the doors.

No sooner had she stepped outside that Sexy started making her ‘disappearing noise’ and faded from existence. Looking around she sees Jackie and Mickey, both watching the place where Sexy had just stood. 

“Hey, Riley.” Mickey gives a sort of half wave not even looking at her and Jackie looks at her clock.

“Ten seconds.” The woman sighs and walks away.

Riley isn’t quite sure what that was about but turns to Mickey instead and sees him reading the newspaper while sitting on a trash can.

“I’m surprised you didn’t come along, Mickey. Didn’t you want to?” She asked and walks up to stand at his side.

“No I… it’s just a bit much.” He sighs and closes the paper. “Have you seen this?”

Riley looks over at the headline. “Alien hoax? Really?”

“I know, right. Unbelievable.” He huffs. “What about you? Why didn’t you go along with them?”

“I’m not sure.” Riley answers with a small frown. “I wanted too but… it’s just… it didn’t feel right. Not now, anyway.”

“What do you mean?” Mickey asked looking at her.

“Didn’t you feel it? Between the two of them? Like, coming in between right now is just… wrong, somehow?” Riley wasn’t sure how to explain it.

“Yeah, maybe. A little, I suppose.” Mickey nodded thoughtfully. “Like it wasn’t our time.”

“Not yet anyway.” Riley nodded as well. “Besides, my aunt would never forgive me. I think she needs to warm up the idea first.”

“Then there is that.” Mickey laughed.

“I got Rose’s phone number though. She promised to keep me updated.” No need to mention Sexy, Riley wasn’t sure how to explain her to Mickey yet.

“Did she now?” Mickey asked. “Do mind if…?”

“I’ll keep you updated, don’t worry.” Riley smiled. “I have a feeling we’ll be seeing more of each now anyway. I f only because Jackie need to talk to someone about the strange man her daughter ran off with and we are the only two who knows about him.”

“Hah, you’re right.” They both looked over at the apartment where they knew Jackie was pacing right now. “We better go keep her busy.”

“And to think that just two days ago she nearly hated you.” Riley giggled.

“It feels like the world is ending.” Mickey jumped off the trash can and grabbed her hand. 

Together they walked back to the Tyler’s flat, laughing along the way, and Riley thought to herself; this is not so bad.

_It’s almost like having a family._


	10. Life goes on and then some

Life moved on, as it usually does, and Riley found herself with a new routine. Her aunt got the promotion at work and now had a job title that Riley couldn’t pronounce, which meant that she was spending more and more time at the office. That coupled with Jared working odd hours driving the ambulance equaled to Riley having a lot more time to herself than ever before. It now was a rare occurrence that all three of them actually made it home for dinner together and most times Riley woke up alone at the apartment in the mornings. This in turn led to her spending more and more time with Jackie and, on occasion, with Mickey. 

Jackie still wasn’t convinced about her home life and more or less demanded that she stayed over for dinner the days she found herself alone. Riley sometimes felt like she was a replacement for Rose but didn’t argue; they had fun together and Mickey would help her with her math homework, she hated math but he was surprisingly good at it. And anything he couldn’t help her with she just texted Rose who asked the Doctor. It helped to have a certifiable genius, by Earth standards, to help out when science got difficult.

Four weeks after Downing Street blew up (thank you, Mickey) Jackie even gave her a key to her apartment saying; “you never know, sweetheart, and you are always welcome”. 

Riley really felt like she had a family, one that was like families were supposed to be; no offense to Aunt Sarah and Jared but Riley knew that she was not on the top of their list of priorities and while she was cool with that it didn’t mean that she liked it to be so. Jackie and Mickey formed a small place in her heart, right next to Sexy, and she would always appreciate them for it. 

Nobody at school even remembered that she had not showed up the day that Big Ben was destroyed and though the city was talking about Downing Street for days afterwards nobody ever asked Riley about it. She blended back into to the background along with the rest of the students and the only one even curious about her slight disappearance was Mrs. Grant, the old lady that ran the tobacco shop on the way to school. Riley always stopped by on her way home from school to chat and Mrs. Grant was the only one noticing her absence on the very same day Britain seemingly got invaded by pigs in spacesuits. 

“Where were you at, Riley dear? I missed you.” She had asked when Riley finally got back into her (these days changed) routine.

“Just living life wherever it took me, Mrs. Grant.” She had answered and that was that.

As for her new mobile phone she had Mickey help her program in the numbers of her aunt, Jared, Jackie and himself in case of emergency but Sexy’s line was still speed dial one. They had texted each other several times since they last saw each other; Sexy describing events and talking about her day. 

Riley learned that the Doctor was in fact a Time Lord and that his absolute mortal enemies the Dalek’s were not as extinct as they had thought. Apparently her Thief and Rose had come across one in some underground compound in America and Sexy said that they had to fight against it with lots of running involved but that it all ended all right. Riley also learned that they had picked up another stray, to Sexy’s annoyance, but that he didn’t last very long. Something about a satellite and greed but Riley wasn’t too surprised; Sexy was a pretty good judge of character, having lived for hundreds of years and all, and if she didn’t like this Adam person then Riley wouldn’t argue with it. She had turned out to be right after all. 

In between telling her about the Doctor and Rose’s adventures Sexy was also texting about the universe. Riley got a very lengthy text when she was changing into her PE clothes the other day about a solar system millions of light years away where everybody looked like fish and whole planets were made entirely of water. In turn Riley would tell her new friend about what she learned in school and any incidents on the news that seemed interesting. 

Riley also texted frequently with Rose, about what was going on with Jackie and planet Earth, who seemed to enjoy having a pen pal almost as much as Riley. Sometimes the blonde would send her whole letters in texting format and other days they looked like journal entries. Not that Riley complained; it was fun to read and Jackie always liked an update whenever possible. Why the blonde didn’t just talk directly to her mother over her own phone, Riley didn’t know, but she didn’t mind being the in between for them. It gave her an excuse to stay with Jackie on most days (not that she needed one, but she still felt like she should) and Mickey was more than happy to hear from his former girlfriend. Riley knew that the boy still had feelings for Rose but she had seen him talking to another girl the other day and the two had seemed pretty cozy too. 

All in all, life just moved on.

=========================

_Did you know I have a room that looks exactly like an aquarium?_

_About two thousand light years away from Earth there is a planet made entirely of forests. They have these birds; thirteen feet high with a beak the color of neon pink to match their orange-yellow feathers. The people, humanoid with claws, live in the trees and get nourishment from the sun rays. Some of these trees are over thousand years old._

_I am accurate in my landings, no matter what anyone says._

_He has landed me in the middle of a war zone. Why does this happen so often?_

Riley loved getting text messages from her friend but sometimes they were a bit… short. Like she had missed out on a conversation that everyone was still having. She got the feeling that Sexy was really bored on occasions, hence the long descriptions on far away civilizations, but sometimes she wondered why the sentient machine was even bothering. The text messages could be completely random at times and it confused her, though she did have fun trying to work out what they meant. She had spent an entire physics class trying to figure out what “Gas mask zombies, what else?” meant and though she got nowhere it helped take edge off from Mr. Wilkes’ teaching (lecturing about the subject in a monotone voice for an hour is sure to get their attention… not). 

And then came her favorite (so far) message.

_The Roald Dahl Plass, Cardiff Bay, tomorrow. Bring Mickey. And Rose’s passport._

Six months of not seeing Sexy and now, finally, they would meet again. And she would also get to meet the Doctor and Rose again. But why Cardiff? 

She told Mickey the news as soon as she got back from school. Her aunt was away at some convention and Jared was working double shift at the hospital so they weren’t around to ask what she was doing packing her Pocahontas backpack with overnight clothes and money. She didn’t know exactly what to expect once meeting up with them but decided it would be better to be safe than sorry. Jackie waved them off at the railway station and told them to hug Rose for her. 

“So, any idea what they want?” Mickey asked as they sat comfortably in their chairs. 

“No clue.” She answered shrugging her shoulders. 

Though the trip may have taken approximately two hours it sure felt longer than that. Riley had been antsy all trip, driving even Mickey up the wall, and once they finally reached Cardiff Central she bounced out of the train. Honest to God; bounced. 

“I swear no more candy for you. I finally understand the term; sugar high.” Mickey grumbled as he walked more sedately off the train after her.

“Come on, come on!” She was bouncing ahead of him waving her arms. “Let’s go.”

“How come you didn’t high like this after we ate all that ice-cream while we were watching Finding Nemo last weekend?” He asked as he let himself be dragged by the, now a days thirteen year old, girl. 

“Because I wasn’t this excited then. I mean, Doris is awesome and everything, but this is the Doctor and Rose we’re talking about here.” She explained as they got on the escalators.

“Whatever.” 

Once they actually got to the newly redeveloped Oval Basin, the Roald Dahl Plass, it was easy to find Sexy. She was standing, in all her blue glory, almost right in front of the water tower. Riley thought it looked a bit funny, Sexy seemed so extremely out of place, but no one paid any heed; they all just walked past it. 

Mickey knocked before Riley had a chance to say that Sexy would let them in anyway. But it wasn’t the Doctor or Rose who opened; it was someone completely different. 

“Who the hell are you?” The stranger asked rudely.

“What do you mean, who the hell am I? Who the hell are you?” Mickey asked back annoyed.

“Captain Jack Harkness. Whatever you’re selling, we're not buying.” The man answered and Riley nearly laughed as he tried to close the door on them. Whoever he was this Jack guy was fun.

“Get out of my way!” Mickey forced his way in, shoving the other man out of the way. Riley followed without comment and shut the door behind her.

“Don't tell me. This must be Mickey.” Jack said grinning.

“Here comes trouble! How're you doing, Ricky boy?” The Doctor spoke up and Riley noticed that he was standing on a ladder, seemingly fixing something or other.

“It’s Mickey!” Just like old times, except they weren’t really old.

“And you must be Riley.” Jack turns and greets her. “Hello.”

“Hi, and who are you exactly? Just giving your name isn’t much of a help.” She smiled.

“Oh, I’m just along for the ride.” He said and gave her a stunning smile. He truly was handsome; the kind of guy that girls older than Riley would gossip about in the canteen at school.

“Like the rest of us then.” She smiled back and they turned just in time to watch Rose and Mickey hug.

“Aw, sweet, look at these two.” Jack said and walked over to the Doctor. “How come I never get any of that?”

“Buy me a drink first.” The Doctor answered not missing a beat.

“You're such hard work.” Jack sighs, as if it is really bothering him.

“But worth it.” The Doctor gives an endearing grin before looking over at Riley. “And there you are. Now here is real trouble.”

“Shut up.” Riley grinned and positioned herself next to Jack. “Are you coming down here or will I have to climb up there?”

“What for?” He asked confused.

“For my greeting hug, of course. You are daft if you think you are getting off without one. Jackie made me promise.” Riley rolled her eyes. “Well, promise to hug Rose but I figure I might as well make it two-for-one deal.”

“What, no hug for me?” Jack asked smilingly as the Doctor climbed down.

“So far you’re still a stranger and my aunt made all these rules about strangers, you see. But I guarantee that you will get a hug goodbye, if I still like you that is.”Riley gave her best cheeky grin and then proceeded to hug the Doctor.

“Hah, I missed you Riley.” He laughed at Jack’s expression.

“Me too you.” She answered and they looked over at the other two just in time to hear Rose say that she could go anywhere now.

“I told you, you don't need a passport.” The Doctor spoke.

“It's all very well going to Platform One and Justicia and the Glass Pyramid of San Kaloon, but what if we end up in Brazil? I might need it. You see, I'm prepared for anything.” The blonde answered and Riley had to agree with her point. No harm in being prepared. 

“Sounds like you’re staying, then.” Mickey interrupted in a sort of forlorn voice making all of them to look over at him. He shook himself out of whatever funk he was in and continued. “So, what're you doing in Cardiff? And who the hell's Jumping Jack Flash? I mean, I don't mind you hanging out with big-ears over there...”

“Oi!” The Doctor interrupted offended.

“Look in the mirror. But this guy, I don't know, he's kind of...” Mickey stated looking over at Jack.

“Handsome?” Jack suggested with a grin.

“More like cheesy.” Mickey finished making Riley laugh.

“Early twenty first Century slang. Is cheesy good or bad?” Jack asked, genuinely curious which made Riley wonder where exactly he was from.

“It’s bad.” Mickey says resolutely.

“But bad means good, isn't that right?” Jack continues turning to Rose who smiles.

“Are you saying I’m not handsome?” The Doctor asks the room at large.

“You are. It’s just...” Riley stopped to ponder her choice of words. “Everybody is different and so are their tastes in what’s handsome and not.”

“And there it is again; the wise twelve year old.” He smiled and wrapped his arm over her shoulder.

“I’ll have you know that I am thirteen now, thank you.” She huffed, not really offended. 

“Thirteen! A teenager, now, are you?” The Doctor smiled and Riley would have answered but Rose started explaining to Mickey why they were there and she was curious herself so she listened.

“We just stopped off. We need to refuel. The thing is, Cardiff's got this rift running through the middle of the city. It's invisible, but it's like an earthquake fault between different dimensions.” She said and the Doctor took up where she left off.

“The rift was healed back in 1869.” He explained.

“Thanks to a girl named Gwyneth” Rose continued. “Because these creatures called the Gelth, they were using the rift as a gateway but she saved the world and closed it.”

“But closing a rift always leaves a scar, and that scar generates energy, harmless to the human race...” Jack took over before the Doctor stepped in again.

“... but perfect for the TARDIS, so just park it here for a couple of days right on top of the scar and...”

“... open up the engines, soak up the radiation...” Jack added.

“Like filling her up with petrol and off we go!” Rose concluded.

“Into time!” Jack said and all three high-fived each other.

“And space!”

Riley couldn’t help but to stare at them in humour and amazement. Finishing of each other’s sentences like that, in perfect synchronization, it was just so... so... was there even a word for it? She could feel Sexy rumbling slightly underneath her, as if the machine was laughing, and Mickey looked disturbed. 

“My God, have you seen yourselves? You all think you're so clever, don't you?” He asked with grimace.

“Yeah.” The Doctor smiled and both Rose and Jack agreed.

“Yeah.”

“Yep.”

“Unbelievable.” Mickey rolled his eyes, clearly thinking them all crazy.

Riley laughed at his expression. “I think you people have spent way too much time together.”

“My point exactly!” Mickey agreed heavily.

“All right, you humans.” The Doctor clapped his hands together like a toddler. “We have time to waste, let’s go sightseeing!”

“Good idea.” Jack nodded and picked up his jacket from the railing where he’d hung it earlier.

“I’m feeling a bit peckish actually.” Rose said as she gathered her things.

“Eating it is!” The Doctor concluded and looked over at the two guests. “You coming?”

“Damn right I am.” Mickey huffed and started walking toward the door.

“Actually...” Riley hesitated. She wasn’t here to eat. “You go ahead, I’ll stay.”

“Stay? By yourself?” Rose asked bewildered but the Doctor nodded as if he’d been expecting it.

“She won’t be by herself.” He said mysteriously. “You have your phone?”

“Yeah, always.” Riley nodded.

“Have fun.” He grinned and hoarded Rose toward the exit.

“What? But are you sure....?” The blonde protested.

“Yes, yes I am sure. Now let’s go. Didn’t you say you were hungry?” And with that the Doctor and Rose had stepped out.

“You’ll be fine?” Mickey asked just as he was about to follow them outside.

“I’ll be great! Just go already.” She laughed and he headed out so that only Jack remained.

“I feel like I’m missing something here.” He grinned.

“Probably.” She agreed with a smile.

“Oi! Watch it you.” He said and walked to the door. “Don’t feel lonely now, little bird.”

“Bird? I feel like I should be insulted or something. And I won’t be lonely.” She made a shooing motion. “Now shoo!”

Jack laughed and stepped out, closing the door after him, leaving Riley all alone in the consul room. Well, almost all alone.

“Finally! I thought they’d never leave!” She heard a voice speaking up behind her and she turned to find a perfect copy of herself standing by the entrance to the corridor.

“Hello Sexy.” She smiled.

“Hello youngling. Ready to have some fun?” Sexy answered with a wicked grin that Riley thought made herself look slightly evil.

“Always.”


	11. Interlude - Jack Harkness

Jack Harkness liked to think that he was a fairly unflappable person. He’d seen things, done things, that just slightly dulled him – not alarmingly, mind, just slightly – to all things… not expected. He was a 51st century guy for crying out loud! And more than that he had seen galaxies, dated questionable species, worked morally challenged jobs and all together he wasn’t exactly considered the best of the bunch where sanity was concerned. He was fine living like that though. Absolutely fine. It was fun after all and Jack Harkness never shied away from fun. Ever.

But then he met those two. The Doctor and Rose in their telephone box time machine. And Jack’s world shifted.

Not that he was complaining, not even a little bit, it all fell under the category of Fun. They were fun. Even while working his charm trying to sell his con in the backdrop of the Second World War (second for Earth maybe) some thirty centuries before he was born he noticed it. These two might actually be fun to hang out with was he not in the process of scamming them. That’s what he thought, in the back of his mind, as he tried to trick and deceive them. And then of course everything went to hell, or whichever domain not of the moniker “Paradise”. Gas mask zombies? Honestly! Who could have seen that one coming? But it all worked out in the end and Jack found himself some new friends and a distinctly more awesome ride than his previous, stolen, ship. 

It could be worse. He was enjoying himself and this was by far better than his earlier lifestyle. Never mind those head splitting vortex manipulators the Time agency employed: the TARDIS was better in all aspects hands down. And life is always better if there is company to be had. Aside from the nearly constant flirting Jack actually enjoyed this new arrangement and felt comfortable in it; the flirting was really just a bonus. After having been saved from his (not really his) soon to explode Chula warship and the following dancing act Jack got started to get to know his new friends; really get to know them. And they got to know him. That’s how it usually worked after all. 

It was a bit mindboggling that the “bigger on the inside” telephone box, which also traveled in time and space, was sentient to a degree. Really, the blue phone box was just full of surprises. Jack was itching to know exactly how such an amazing machine came into his companions’ hands but for once he employed some of that tact his mother had pounded into his head with great effort. He could tell that the Doctor wasn’t overly fond of the questions that hit close to home and Jack decided simply not to push it. There would come a time when he could but right now it just didn’t feel right. 

Putting the blue box aside there was also the matter of his new friends. Rose, gorgeous as she was, was a fighter. There was a spark in her eyes that said it all; here was a gal that wasn’t afraid of heavy lifting and standing up for yourself. There was compassion in those eyes as well and through that compassion Jack could tell of her love for life and her belief in the general goodness of people. She was a true gem that one. More over; she was likeable and fun to be with. For all the flirting he was exchanging with the blonde Jack knew that it was never going to get serious though. He could tell the bond between Rose and the Doctor was strong and he would be loath to get in the middle of that… well… not really. Normally he would relish in that kind of disruption, chaos was after all much more fun than serenity, but not with these two. He liked them.

The Doctor was truly an interesting specimen as well. Though obviously not human, as Jack and Rose, he looked and acted it. His wondrous time machine was a sight to behold and in spite of his questionable fashion sense (not to mention those ears) he had a quality of him that made him… shall we say: someone of interest? Somewhat handsome and with humor: that is difficult to find in a man you know. Jack did his fair share of flirting with the Doctor as well and it was all fun. If not for the slightly dark edge to the man’s personality he might even consider going serious for a while. But the aforementioned bond between the Doctor and his blonde and the edge to his jolly nature stopped Jack in even thinking further. For all his smiles and enthusiastic persona the Doctor had a darkness lingering inside him, a storm behind those eyes, which betrayed him. But Jack wouldn’t hold it against him; he knew what it was like to have something dark hidden inside you (he wasn’t exactly squeaky clean himself) and at least the Doctor tried to overcome it. What else would Rose be doing with him if not as to act like a buffer between him and the universe? 

Yes, Jack really liked his two new companions and he enjoyed exploring their quirks. He could even admit to almost liking Mickey. Though only having known the boy for about an hour or so he held some amount of respect for him; it takes a certain amount of courage to watch your girlfriend fly away and decide to stay behind. Of course, just because there was a smidge of respect it didn’t mean that Jack would stop teasing him any time soon. It was just too fun. 

But then came the real kicker. A thirteen year old girl who somehow had managed to befriend the time machine. How that was even possible he didn’t know but he wouldn’t argue. When he first heard of her, as Rose was explaining Mickey and how they would meet up in Cardiff, he was slightly unbelieving but decided to stall judgment. If the Doctor was okay with the kid and his awesome piece of machinery being cozy then maybe it was all right, if not a bit dubious. They did explain that the TARDIS was sentient and if the ship had a mind then he supposed it was not entirely unlikely that said ship could strike up friendships. It was only slightly unlikely and a bit weird. 

Once Mickey and Riley arrived Jack made sure to pay extra attention to the girl. After taking the mickey out of Mickey (ha ha) in his usual style he introduced himself to her properly. She was an interesting one to be sure. Her promise of a hug goodbye, if she still liked him that is (implying that she already did?), had him smiling and puzzled at the same time. She sure didn’t shy away from strangers did she? But maybe she figured that if the Doctor and TARDIS were okay with him… no matter, an interesting one to be sure. 

Then when she soothed the Doctor about being handsome, which the man was… in his own way… Jack certainly had no problems with his looks then again, it was Jack… either way; she did it with such finesse for someone barely out of their pre-teens that he found himself agreeing with the Doctor’s comment about wisdom. 

There was just something very endearing about the girl that set her out from the crowds. Or maybe that was just her impressively wide green eyes…? 

When she had expressed the will to stay behind he wasn’t that surprised. She was after all friends with the TARDIS, however weird that may be, and no doubt wanted to spend some time with… it… her… him…? Vehicles are usually referred to as female right? How did they even spend time together? How did they communicate? How…? Never mind, his brain was straying into strange and nearly disturbing places, it was best to just let it be. 

The Doctor seemed perfectly all right leaving her alone, although Rose clearly wasn’t, and Mickey seemed fine with it as well. 

“I feel like I’m missing something here.” 

How was it even possible for them to…? Argh, stop it! 

He wasn’t sure where “little bird” came from but it seemed appropriate enough. She did kind of remind her of a bird, in some ways; small, cute and with a cheeky beak. Really, all that was missing were the wings. He decided that he’d let the nickname stick if they ever got to truly know each other; which he supposed they would. He wasn’t going anywhere and he had a feeling that neither was she. 

Yes, these were some highly interesting people he’d gotten himself mixed up with. And he suspected they would all have very fun together. After all: fun is what he does best.


	12. Rooms and who's the mayor of Cardiff, did you say?

”Wait! So let me get this straight.” Riley laughed. “Jack was actually a conman and he tried to con the Doctor and Rose but before that he was a Time Agent which is like the universe’s answer to Super Secret Spies or thereabouts.”

“Yes, that’s exactly it.” Sexy nodded.

“Seriously? A conman? I mean, I guess I can see it… somewhat. But still. And they decided that they liked him and invited him to come along for the ride?” Riley shook her head in disbelief.

“Pretty much.” Sexy agreed.

The two of them were sitting in the library catching up on each other’s lives and Sexy had just described who Jack Harkness really was and what he was doing there. At least now Riley knew what “Gas masked zombies” meant, creepy though they may be, and Jack sounded like a fun person. Sexy had conjured a pair or plush chairs out of nowhere and had even lit the fireplace to set the mood (Riley had been extremely surprised to find a fireplace in the huge library and had immediately asked where the smoke went to which Sexy had answered; nowhere, the fire is artificial and the heat comes from built in heaters). Really, the only thing missing was a cup of hot chocolate and then the scene would be complete. 

They didn’t know when the others would be back but it didn’t matter; Riley was here to be with Sexy after all. They continued talking for a while, Riley describing the new literature teacher at her school and Sexy explaining more in detail about the rift and the girl named Gwyneth, before deciding that some more exploring was to be had.

“After all, we didn’t even get halfway done last time.” Sexy had grinned in that nearly evil way again and the two got up and wandered out of the library. 

They headed left from the library and Sexy guided her down a bunch of floors before finally stopping. 

“Here we are.” Sexy said in a pleased sort of tone.

“And where exactly is ‘here’?” Riley asked feeling a bit suspicious. 

“Well, I figured you’d want to see this one.” She answered and gestured to the large door in front.

Still a bit weary but trusting all the same, Riley shrugged and went to open the thick and heavy door. What she saw on the other side was simply amazing.

“But it’s…”

“Yep.” Sexy grinned.

“But how?”

Riley just kept on staring in disbelief. This was a spaceship, Sexy was a spaceship, and sure she’d seen some pretty amazing things in here (the swimming pool came to mind) but still; this was just too… unbelievable. 

It was a garden. An honest to God proper garden. With lots of lush greenery and a path leading further in and Riley knew she could hear streaming water coming from somewhere as well. It was like one of those fancy greenhouses meant for socializing; glass walls and roof with comfy plush chairs and tables for tea. Above the glass roof Riley could see the stars, kind of like the observatory room she’d seen on her first trip exploring, and there was strange sort of glow coming from the walls; like soft blue and white lamps were filling the room with light. 

“Well.” Sexy said interrupting Riley’s staring. “I can’t quite remember why this room exits but it’s good, isn’t it?”

“Oh, definitely good. Actually more than good. Amazing!” Riley nodded. “Beautiful.”

“Excessive use of adjectives; you must really like it then.” Sexy grinned.

“Absolutely!”

“There is a horse too.”

“A horse?” Riley asked stunned. A horse in a spaceship, really?

“Well, not yet. But there will be.” Sexy amended.

“Will be? How do you know?” Riley wondered.

“I know everything.”

“Oh, how modest of you.” Riley laughed. “So you know that at some point there will be a horse?”

“Oh, yes. And quite soon I should think.” Sexy nodded as if confirming something.

“How soon?”

“Soon enough.”

“Well, glad we decided that then.” Riley said sarcastically and looked around. “Although I would love to look around in here for some more I am guessing there are a lot more rooms to explore, no?”

“Yes. And I know just the place.” Sexy nodded and started to lead her out of the garden. “I wonder how many adjectives you’ll bestow the next room?”

“I guess we’ll see, won’t we?” Riley teased and they both walked (well, Riley walked, Sexy just sort of… floated) further down the corridor. 

Sexy lead Riley down another flight of stairs any she found herself wondering exactly how many floors her friend consisted of. She had said that she was infinite but… that didn’t really explain it, did it? Moreover she could change the interior and move things around by no apparent pattern. How did she keep track of it all? She was a sentient machine though… maybe her mind, which would be the computer she assumed, was just as infinite. Computers have memory, right? So how big would Sexy’s be? Riley had a feeling she would probably not even understand the answer, if she was ever given one, and decided that for the sake of her own brain she would stop wondering. It would no doubt save her a future headache. 

“All right. We’re here.”

“Here where?” Riley asked and looked around. It looked just like any old corridor and she couldn’t see any doors either. 

“Here.” Sexy said and pointed to the wall.

“I don’t see anything. It’s just a wall.” Riley looked to her friend confused.

“Oh, you humans. Your brains are so small, how do you even fit in them?” Sexy sighed and pointed again. “It’s not just a wall. Take a closer look.”

Feeling a bit stupid but trusting Sexy all the same Riley took a closer look. At first it really did seem like just an ordinary wall, nothing special about it whatsoever, but then she noticed something odd. One section of the wall, the one they were standing right in front of, seemed off. It took her a full thirty seconds to realize why; it was the color. While the same color grey as the rest of the wall that section seemed… less. As if the intensity of the grey was less than the surrounding areas. Allowing herself to process this for a bit she finally realized why.

“It’s not actually a wall, is it?” She asked Sexy who grinned smugly.

“Ah, look at that, I expected it to take longer for you to see it.”

“What is it though? A hidden door?”

“Hidden, definitely. A door, not so much. More a… passage.” Sexy answered and walked (read: floated) forward. “Come on then.”

Riley watched, slightly stunned, as the apparition simply floated through the wall. Not that it was anything new, Sexy tended to float through most things being not actually solid and all, but this time was different. The wall flickered as she floated through it. It was almost as if…

“Is it a hologram?” Riley asked.

“Smarter than you look, aren’t you?” Sexy’s voice answered from the other side of the hologram wall. “Now come on!”

Riley laughed and walked forward as well, passing through the wall as if it was nothing (which it was), and found herself in a tunnel of sorts. And it wasn’t just any sort of tunnel, it looked like something from medieval times; the walls were made of stone bricks and there were actual torches (torches!) hanging on the wall. 

“Wow.”

“I know.” Sexy grinned and started walking. “Wait ‘till you see the end.”

“But… this is a ship, right? Made of metal?” Riley asked as she wandered after her friend.

“Yes.”

“So why the bricks?” Riley privately thought this was a very good question but Sexy just shook it off.

“For authenticity of course.”

“… of course.” 

The tunnel itself wasn’t very long and Riley found herself wondering why there even was a tunnel to begin with but when she asked Sexy just grinned again and said “why not?” so she decided to just let it go. She was walking alongside a hologram of herself which was really a sentient machine called the TARDIS who incidentally also was her friend; she doubted anything about her situation ever would make perfect sense so it was simply no use in trying to figure it out. At the end of the tunnel however, all her thoughts stopped. Literary stopped, as in coming to a screeching halt and all that was left of them was the metaphorical road burns in her mind. How the…?

“It’s good, isn’t it?” If Riley had not been so focused on what was ahead of her she would have scowled at her friends smug tone but as it was she barely even registered the comment. 

“Is this what I think it is?” She asked her voice near a whisper.

“I suppose that depends on what you think it is. But I’ll go out on a limb and just say that; yes, it is.” 

“You can’t be serious…” Riley took a few steps further in and looked around. 

“What else am I to be then?” Sexy asked teasingly but Riley just ignored it.

“It’s a throne room!”

A throne room. There was a throne room in the TARDIS. Why on earth…? How? It wasn’t just any throne room either, it was the throne room; it was gigantic, all in stone, with banners hanging off the walls and even a window with colored glass depicting an ancient king. The banners were all different, in different colors, but the design on them (and everything else really) was strictly medieval. But Riley wasn’t really paying attention to any of that. No her sight was set on the table: the very big round table. 

“I have so many questions right now I don’t even know where to start. Or end. Or anything.”

“It is rather good, isn’t it?” Sexy commented. “It’s a genuine copy of the real thing.”

“A copy?” Riley asked. “Why do you even need a copy? Or the original for that sake?”

“It will be needed.”

“Will be? As in, will be needed in the future?”

“A good presumption.” She nodded. “It is real stone and real wood and the torches on the wall can be lit like the real thing too.”

“And what about the banners?” Riley looked again at the huge pieces of fabric on the walls.

“Those are real too.”

“No, I mean… why those patterns?” The different patterns on the banners were beautiful and all seemed to be in great detail. One banner was showing a lioness and her cubs with greenery in the background, another was sewn to show a battle scene from some medieval war with knights and swords. They were each done in such perfect detail that it almost looked as if the scenes were real and bound to jump out from the fabric at any time. 

“You know, I am not quite sure why those specifically. Or why this room is needed. Just that it is and that those were the banners that were required.” 

“You are very unsure about a lot of things, aren’t you?” Riley teased.

“I’ll have you know that I am all knowing. It’s just… being all knowing makes it somewhat difficult to remember everything at times.”

“Are you justifying yourself?” Riley smiled. “Or explaining yourself?”

“Well…” Sexy started but broke off and turned toward the exit.

“What? What is it?”

“They’re back.” She answered and disappeared.

“What! Oh come on!” Riley stared at the place her friend had previously been standing at exasperated. “Why do you keep doing that?”

Receiving no answer, and not really expecting one either, she sighed and walked back out through the tunnel and headed to the console room. She was determined to come back to the honest to God throne room at a later date, it was just too good to let be, but there were other things at hand right then that were more important; for example, the fact that the other’s had come back way too early. Why were they back so early? Had something happened? The journey was short, meaning that Sexy was moving things around again to make the trip quicker for her, and it was less than three minutes before she arrived at her destination. 

Entering the console room Riley was met with the sight of her companions frantically running about seemingly regrouping. Rose was standing with Jack and telling him something to which he was listening with such a concentrated face that Riley wouldn’t be surprised if he brought out a notebook and jotted down everything. The Doctor was under the grating on the floor and seemed to be digging for something and Mickey was standing in between him and Rose trying to pay attention to both at the same time. Stepping closer Riley spoke up.

“What’s going on? Why are you back so early?” 

Instead of giving her an answer Mickey simply handed her a newspaper and turned back to listen to Rose. Feeling confused and out of sync Riley took the paper and turned it over, trying to figure out what the fuss was about. What she saw made her nearly drop it.

The headline on the front page read: New mayor, New Cardiff but that wasn’t important. No, what was important was the picture underneath; Margaret Blaine, otherwise known as Slitheen extraordinaire and presumably dead and buried under the rubble of Ten Downing Street.

“Unbelievable.” She breathed. It felt like her heart had stopped for a few seconds when she saw it but now it was beating so fast it made her ears ring.

“She’s back.”


	13. Philanthropic gesture?

Riley couldn’t believe it, she really couldn’t. Bambi was alive!

Well, alive and the mayor of Cardiff. How the Slitheen had managed that was a great mystery but really not the point. Still it did pose some interesting questions. Mayor, huh?

After having regrouped at Sexy the group of them left for the City hall which the Doctor argued was the best place to find any mayor in any city. Entering the foyer (which really, this was a government building filled with government officials, it should not have been this easy!) Riley looked around. It looked like an average political government building with high class panels and fine carpets but no real soul to the place. The group paused on top of the foyer staircase.

“According to intelligence,” Jack started as he checked his watch. “The target is the last surviving member of the Slitheen family, a criminal sect from the planet Raxacoricofallapatorius, masquerading as a human being, zipped inside a skin suit.”

Riley nodded in agreement as he carried on. 

“Okay, plan of attack; we assume a basic fifty seven fifty six strategy, covering all available exits on the ground floor. Doctor, you go face to face. That'll designate Exit One, I'll cover Exit Two. Rose, you and Riley take Exit Three. Mickey Smith, you’re on Exit Four. Have you got that?”

All in all it sounded very professional and direct and quite frankly it felt good to have an actual plan. Riley turned to look at Rose who smiled at her and pointed down the corridor where they were supposed to go. Riley nodded but didn’t get a chance to say anything as the Doctor spoke up. 

“Excuse me. Who's in charge?” He asked all indigently and with a slight huff although it was easy to tell he wasn’t too serious. 

“Sorry. Awaiting orders, sir.” Jack answered. 

“Right, here's the plan.” The Doctor said and then paused before smiling. “Like he said. Nice plan. Anything else?”

“Present arms.” Jack ordered and everyone took out their mobile phones.

“Ready.” The Doctor said and they all answered similarly and checked their speed dial.

“See you in hell.” Jack concluded and they all split up, heading toward their specific destinations.

Riley followed Rose, who seemed somewhat to know where she was going, and the two of them walked in silence. They positioned themselves at their designated exit and waited.

“Why do you think she became mayor?” Riley asked after a while genuinely curious. “It’s such a strange move to do.”

“I don’t know.” Rose shrugged. “It is weird though, I agree. Once we catch her we can ask.”

Riley was about to answer but Rose’s phone vibrated indicating an incoming call. The blonde pressed “answer” and held it up to her ear. Riley didn’t hear what was said but she caught Rose’s reply: “on my way” and followed behind as the older girl started running down the corridor. They were both running as quickly as possible and didn’t even pause to say sorry when they ran straight into a clerk making all her drop all her papers on the ground. Soon enough they exited the building at the back and they spotted Bambi on the road up ahead.

“There!” Rose yelled and they ran toward the alien.

Bambi seems to be fiddling with her brooch and ear rings before running down the road away from the girl and Jack who came out further ahead. Riley spots the Doctor climbing down a balcony and they all run toward him.

“Who’s on exit four?” Jack pants annoyed as they keep running.

“That was Mickey.” Rose answers out of breath.

Just as Riley is about to ask where exactly exit four is she sees Mickey coming out of the government building just in front of them but it is too late as Bambi has already passed it. She’s running further down the road as quickly as she can (not really that quickly) and they pause.

“Mickey the idiot!” The Doctor mocks.

“Oh, be fair.” Rose speaks up. “She’s not exactly going to outrun us, is she?”

There is a slight light and Bambi vanishes. 

“She's got a teleport!” Jack cries. “That's cheating! Now we're never going to get her.”

“You have so little faith.” Riley sighs at him making him look at her questioningly. 

“Yeah, the Doctor's very good at teleports.” Rose nods as the man in question pulls out his screwdriver with a wide smile.

Bambi reappears, this time running towards them rather than away, and even from that distance can Riley see her scowl. She laughs at the sight. The alien teleports way again only to have the Doctor bring her back. And again.

“I could do this all day.” The Doctor smiles tauntingly. 

“This is persecution. Why can't you leave me alone? What did I ever do to you?” The Slitheen huffs as if she was a victim in all this.

“Is that a trick question?” Riley asks with a tilted head.

“You tried to kill me and destroy this entire planet.” The Doctor answers.

“Not to mention all those people you and your family killed because it was convenient.” Rose adds and Mickey nods furiously.

“Apart from that.” Bambi brushes it aside but by her facial expression she knows it’s over.

The Doctor walks over and grabs her and starts to pull her back to the City hall with the others following. “Let’s find out what you’ve been up to.”

They enter the government building with no problem, again too easy according to Riley but maybe that was because they had the mayor with them this time, and eventually they find themselves in some sort of hall room. There is a table with a model of Cardiff on it and a banner, making Riley think that maybe there was some sort of presentation held in the room or something.

“So, you're a Slitheen, you're on Earth, you're trapped.” The Doctor speaks up and gets their attention. “Your family get killed but you teleport out just in the nick of time. You have no means of escape. What do you do?” 

He gestures to the table and the model. “You build a nuclear power station. But what for?”

“A philanthropic gesture. I've learnt the error of my ways.” Is the answer she gives them, making Mickey snort and Rose roll her eyes.

“A nuclear power station as a philanthropic gesture? Why can’t you just start up a charity to save marine life or something, you know; less dangerous?” Riley sighed. 

“And this nuclear station just so happens to be right on top of the rift. Bit of a coincidence, don’t you think?” The Doctor continues.

“And what rift would that be?” Bambi asks all innocent. 

“Don’t play coy, Mrs. Bog monster.” Mickey taunts. “Innocence doesn’t suit you.”

“A rift in space and time.” Jack starts to explain anyway. “If this power station went into meltdown, the entire planet would go BOOM.” 

He mimics an implosion making Riley giggle. The Doctor nods toward Jack in full serious mode.

“This station is designed to explode the minute it reaches capacity.” He confirms.

“Didn't anyone notice? Isn't there someone in London checking this sort of stuff?” Rose asks aghast. Surely they wouldn’t let something like that happen?

“We're in Cardiff. London doesn't care. The South Wales coast could fall into the sea and they wouldn't notice.” Bambi catches herself and makes a face. “Oh, I sound like a Welshman. God help me, I've gone native.”

“But why would she do that? A great big explosion, she'd only end up killing herself.” Mickey wonders confused.

“That’s a good question.” Rose agrees quietly before looking to the Doctor; the man who usually held all answers.

“She’s got a name you know.” Bambi speaks up annoyed.

“She's not even a she, she's a thing.” Mickey makes a half-disgusted face. 

“Oh, but she’s clever.” The Doctor suddenly says, apparently having figured something out, and reaches for the model. He pulls a section of it off, the one with the nuclear power station on it, and turns it upside down to show something unexpected. “Fantastic!”

“Is that a tribophysical waveform macro-kinetic extrapolator?” Jack gushes like a kid at Christmas.

“Couldn’t have said it better myself.” The Doctor grins.

“I couldn’t have said it at all.” Riley comments and steps closer to the board thingy, looking closer at the electronics. “Tri-physical wave what?”

“Genius! You didn't build this.” Jack takes the thing from the Doctor’s arms and puts it down.

“I have my hobbies. A little tinkering...” Bambi shrugged modestly.

“No, no, no. I mean, you really didn't build this. Way beyond you.” Jack disagrees and looks over the board in awe.

“I bet she stole it.” Mickey says.

“It fell into my hands.” The Slitheen relents matter-of-factly. 

“From the hands of someone still living?” Riley questions but the alien just glares at her.

“Is it a weapon?” Rose asks, intrigued by the complex device.

“It's transport.” Jack starts to explain. “You see, if the reactor blows, the rift opens. Phenomenal cosmic disaster. But this thing shrouds you in a force field. You have this energy bubble, so you're safe. Then you feed it coordinates, stand on top, and ride the concussion all the way out of the solar system.”

“It’s a surfboard.” Realization dawns on Mickey and he looks even more intrigued by it.

“A pan-dimensional surfboard, yeah.” Jack agrees.

“And it would've worked. I’d have surfed away from this dead end dump and back to civilisation.” Bambi sighs despondently making them all look at her in varying degrees of horror, except for the Doctor who seemed focused on something else entirely.

“You’d have blown up a whole planet just to get a lift?” Mickey asks incredulous.

“Like stepping on an anthill.” 

“So much for your philanthropic gesture.” Riley mutters.

“How’d you think of the name?” The Doctor interrupts in a distracted sort of voice.

“What, Blaidd Drwg? It's Welsh.” The Slitheen answers a bit thrown off by the non-sequitur.

“I know, but how’d you think of it?”

“I chose it at random, that's all. I don't know. It just sounded good.” She shrugs and turns fully toward her captor. “Does it matter?”

“Blaidd Drwg...” The Doctor mumbles.

“What’s it mean?” Rose asks a bit concerned.

“Bad wolf.”

“But I've heard that before. Bad Wolf. I've heard that lots of times.” She responds shakily and Riley looks over at them closer. What was so important about that?

“Everywhere we go. Two words following us. Bad Wolf.” The Doctor agrees and now they all start to feel a little off hand. How can you be stalked by a phrase?

“How can they be following us?” Rose sounds almost afraid now, which is probably what snaps the Doctor out of it, Riley realises.

“Nah, just a coincidence. Like hearing a word on the radio then hearing it all day. Never mind. Things to do. Margaret, we're going to take you home.” He claps his hands together, all concern gone from his body, and puts them back on track.

Riley eyes him suspiciously though. That was quick. He seemed so entirely focused on that phrase and whatever worries that came along with it and now what? All forgotten? All explained away? Or maybe he just swept it away into that part of his brain for things to worry about later; away from people and away from Rose. She huffed to herself; if that man thought he’d get to worry about whatever “Bad wolf” was on his own he’d have another thing coming! Just because he was an ancient time-travelling alien didn’t mean that responsibilities were all his own. Burdens are meant to be shared after all.

But maybe right now wasn’t the best time?

“Hold on, isn't that the easy option, like letting her go?” Jack asked confused.

“I don't believe it! We actually get to go to Raxa...” Roses tongue slipped and she scrunched her face a little. “Wait a minute! Raxacor...”

“Raxacoricofallapatorius.” The Doctor said as if it was the easiest thing in the world.

“Raxacorico...”

“...fallapatorius”

“Raxacoricofallapatorius! That’s it!” Rose cheered and hugged the Doctor while the rest grinned at her excitement. “I did it!”

“They have the death penalty.” Bambi spoke up making them all quiet uncomfortably. “The family Slitheen was tried in its absence many years ago and found guilty with no chance of appeal. According to the statutes of government, the moment I return, I am to be executed. What do you make of that, Doctor? Take me home and you take me to my death.”

Well, isn’t that unfortunate.

“Not my problem.” Is all the Doctor says, like it really didn’t matter, and they start to plan to head back to Sexy.

It shouldn’t matter, Riley agrees, so the woman was a criminal both on Earth and on her home planet. So what? She wasn’t overly comfortable with the death penalty but it wasn’t really her business. If that was the way things were being run on Raxacoricofallapatorius then she had no right to butt in. It wasn’t like they could just leave the alien there, where she’d already planned to blow up the planet for a lift, and they couldn’t exactly just drop her off on some space station either; she was bound to do something illegal at some point. And she really was a criminal. It really shouldn’t matter. So why did it?


	14. the "box" in Police box

Riley really didn’t think that time had passed that quickly but while they were walking back to Sexy they were doing it in the darkness of night. Somehow hours had flown by and the day was gone, leaving only the chilly night air in the sunlight’s stead. 

Bambi’s reaction at seeing the seemingly tiny blue box was hilarious, her stuttering as they all shambled inside even more so. But as soon as she saw the interior of the “tiny box” her face formulated an awe-expression that was completely genuine and remnant of their own similar experiences that it felt wrong somehow. To share such an experience with a criminal as bad as this one left a bit of a bad after taste. 

“This ship is impossible. It's superb. How do you get the outside around the inside?” She commented as she looked around as much as possible without actually being allowed to look around. 

“Like I'd give you the secret, yeah.” The Doctor scoffed. 

“I almost feel better about being defeated. I never stood a chance. This is the technology of the gods.” She nods to herself.

Riley finds herself wondering what kind of gods a Slitheen would be referring to; do they have their own gods? Was there a religion on Raxacoricofallapatorius? Just one or several like on Earth? Maybe Sexy would know. She decided to ask her later, when there were less people around. 

“Don't worship me - I'd make a very bad god. You wouldn't get a day off, for starters.” The Doctor winks and turns around. “Jack, how we doing, big fella?”

“This extrapolator's top of the range. Where did you get it?” Jack asks their resident Slitheen lady as he fumbles about with the machine thingy they’d taken from Bambi; the surfboard. He was connecting it to the TARDIS console with lots of wires and Riley had no clue why. 

“Oh, I don't know. Some airlock sale?” The prisoner shrugs innocently. 

“Must've been a great big heist. It's stacked with power.” Jack grins.

“But we can use it for fuel?” The Doctor asks making Riley start.

“Why would we want to? The TARDIS doesn’t need external fuel sources, she’s fine by herself.” Just the thought of Sexy being contaminated by something... well, not-Sexy, felt wrong. Like hotwiring a car with a boom box; it just doesn’t match. 

“It's not compatible, but it should knock off about twelve hours.” Jack ignores her. “We'll be ready to go by morning.”

“Then we're stuck here overnight.” The Doctor concludes and looks around at the rest of them. 

Riley sighs; stuck with Bambi overnight? Maybe she should just get back to exploring Sexy and leave the criminal detainee to the grown-ups.

“I’m in no hurry.” Says Bambi.

“We've got a prisoner. The police box is really a police box.” Rose speaks up as if this was an amazing thing and the Doctor smiled at her slight enthusiasm but it was quickly disturbed.

“You're not just police, though. Since you're taking me to my death, that makes you my executioners. Each and every one of you.” Bambi sneers and make sure to look at them all with a accusing glare.

“Well, you deserve it.” Mickey answers in a hurry and he sounds sure about it but Riley can see that small flicker in his eyes; like he’s in doubt.

“You're very quick to say so. You're very quick to soak your hands in my blood, which makes you better than me, how, exactly?” She shoots back and start to look at them all, focusing on their eyes. “Long night ahead. Let's see who can look me in the eye.”

Riley watches as the Slitheen lady stares them all down; not a single person, not even the Doctor, manages to hold her stare for long. And then the green bog-monster turns on her and Riley looks into her blue eyes with determination. The accusing stare is there, along with what Riley can only describe as hatred, but there is something else as well – something hidden underneath. Riley straightens up and turns toward the woman fully, locking eyes and digging for what’s in there. Bambi looks surprised at first but quickly intensify her glare, something that Riley barely notices. 

It’s fear.

Riley looks beyond the hatred and sees her fear. Suddenly she feels a swelling wave of pity inside for the woman in front of her.   
She looks away.

==================================

The air inside Sexy is thick and stifling. The feeling of oppression and guilt is weighing down and eventually Mickey can’t take it; he bolts, and Rose chases after him after a few minutes. Riley can’t help but feel that Bambi felt proud of that accomplishment but keeps it to herself. She sits off to the side, watching the Doctor and Jack watch Rose and Mickey on the scanner. Bambi, the guest of dishonour, stands beside them. She keeps sneaking glances to her left and Riley follows her eyesight to the extrapolator and furrows her brows. Why does she keep doing that? 

“So, what's on?” Jack asks the Doctor as the older man keeps staring at the scanner.

“Nothing, just.”

“I gather it's not always like this, having to wait.” Bambi speaks up; her tone self-assured and sneaky. “I bet you're always the first to leave, Doctor. Never mind the consequences, off you go. You butchered my family and then ran for the stars, am I right? But not this time. At last you have consequences. How does it feel?”

Riley can feel Sexy silently rumbling underneath her feet; the machine does not like how the criminal is treating her Thief. She puts her hand on the wall in a soothing gesture, not sure if it actually helps or not, but pays attention to the conversation all the same.

“I didn’t butcher them.” The Doctor defends but it sounds hollow, more like a token resistance than anything. 

“Don't answer back.” Jack interrupts before looking at Bambi with scorn. “That's what she wants.”

“I didn't.” The Doctor insists. “What about you? You had an emergency teleport. You didn't zap them to safety, did you?”

“It only carries one. I had to fly without coordinates. I ended up on a skip in the Isle of Dogs.” Bambi huffs and the two men starts to snigger. Riley herself lets a small smile escape her, it sounded funny. “It wasn't funny.”

“Sorry. It is a bit funny.” The Doctor laughs before sobering up quickly.

“Do I get a last request?” Bambi asks suddenly making all three of them look up at her in suspicion.

“Depends on what it is.”

“I grew quite fond of my little human life. All those rituals. The brushing of the teeth, and the complicated way they cook things. There's a little restaurant just round the Bay. It became quite a favourite of mine.” She answers with a strange look on her face; it’s like she’s trying to look pleading but is way too proud to pull it off.

“Is that what you want?” The Doctor too has a strange look, Riley thinks he’s actually considering it. “A last meal?”

“Don't I have rights?” Bambi asks.

“Would you have them on Raxacoricofallapatorius?” Riley speaks up, genuinely curious, making Bambi take notice of her again. 

“Good job on the pronunciation.” The Doctor mumbles but Bambi doesn’t give an answer, just stares as her with a strange glint in her eyes; like she wants to strangle her, making Riley unconsciously take a step closer to the walls of Sexy behind her.

“Oh, like she's not going to try to escape.” Jack draws the attention away from her, breaking the small silence that had occurred. 

“Except I can never escape the Doctor, so where's the danger?” Bambi looks back at the man in charge. “I wonder if you could do it? To sit with a creature you're about to kill and take supper. How strong is your stomach?”

“Strong enough.” He answers, almost like he’s taking it as a challenge.

“I wonder. I've seen you fight your enemies, now dine with them.”

“You won’t change my mind.” He taunts but Riley can hear the shift in his voice; she’s convinced him.

“Prove it.” She challenges.

Suddenly Riley feels like the two of them have forgotten that there were in fact two other people in the room with them. They were so busy staring into each other’s eyes, challenging and daring each other, that it was almost like a bubble with only them inside. Jack and Riley wasn’t even in the same sphere of reality with them right then.

“There are people out there. If you slip away just for one second, they'll be in danger.” The Doctor counters and Riley privately thinks this is a very good argument.

“Except,” Jack speaks up again, breaking the bubble, and holds up two bangles. “I’ve got these. You both wear one. If she moves more than ten feet away, she gets zapped by ten thousand volts.”

“I don’t even want to know why you have those.” Riley laughs and he winks at her with a cheeky smile.

“Maybe I’ll tell you about it when you get older.”

“Margaret, would you like to come out to dinner? My treat.” The Doctor grabs the bracelets and gives the Slitheen lady a fake smile.

“Dinner in bondage, works for me.” She smiles back, equally as fake.

Three minutes later the Doctor is wearing the Alpha bracelet and Bambi is donned with the Omega one and off they go; for a non-romantic dinner in Cardiff right before an execution, leaving Jack and Riley alone in the TARDIS.

“What are you doing exactly, anyway?” Riley walks up to her new friend to take a closer look.

“Oh, see, I’ve hooked up the extrapolator to the TARDIS main circuit to hurry along the process of fuel intake.” He answers and point to where the board and the TARDIS console were linked. “The board is so full of energy, see, that the TARDIS can use that energy to exceed speed.”

“Basically,” Riley speaks slowly. “You’re saying it’s like an extra battery, different but still compatible.” 

“Yes.” He laughs. “Smart girl.”

“Mm, I don’t like it.” Riley shakes her head making him look at her in confusion.

“What? Why?”

“Because... she’s a beautiful machine, absolutely wonderful and amazing and all adjectives of the like, hooking her up to a... a surf-board, it just feels wrong.” She huffs and he laughs at her indignation.

“Well, I suppose.” He ruffles her hair making her scowl at him. “But it’s what we’re doing so you’re just going to have to live with it, little bird. It’s only for a few hours, after that it’s going to be all TARDIS again.”

“Whatever.” 

Jack never leaves the extrapolator’s side, always fiddling with it or the console, and Riley decides that letting him do it all by himself is simply rude so she stays with him. Not that she actually helps or anything, she’s got no clue how to work the damn thing, but she keeps him company and the two talk and tell stories and generally gets to know each other a bit better. 

“So you were seriously married?” She asks with a big smile. Jack was a brilliant story teller. “To that guy for five years which in reality was actually two weeks?”

“Yeah.” He laughs. “It sure felt like five years.”

“Been married often?” She grins as he fiddles with a wire.

“Cheeky.” He gives in lieu of an answer.

“Alright, don’t tell me.”

“And you, you really befriended the TARDIS?” Jack asked, dying to know exactly how that happened. “How?”

“The doors were opened. There was no one inside at the time and I didn’t feel like going to school anyway. “She told him with a shrug. “She came to me.”

“Yeah but, I mean, not to sound rude or anything; she’s a machine. How does a machine befriend anyone?” Seriously, it’d been bugging him.

“Like anyone else would.” She shrugs again.

“Okay, fine, I’ll stop asking.” He laughed but decided he’d ask again one day. It was just too weird and interesting to let go.

“Which one was it?” Riley wondered suddenly. “That made you stay, I mean. The Doctor or Rose? Because I saw the three of you earlier, you look at them the same.”

“What do you mean?” He asked her to clarify but thought he already knew; she really wasn’t like other thirteen year olds, this one.

“If I didn’t know any better I’d say you’ve got a crush on them, both of them. In fact, you might. But which one was it; it had to be one more than the other, at least at first?” Riley leaned in toward him.

Jack gave a small laugh and shook his head. “You’re good.”

“Just answer me.”

“I met Rose first.” He said. “She’s something else.”

“I know.” She agreed. “And they fit, don’t they?”

He nodded at her; knowing exactly what she was talking about. “It’s going to be those two. I’m just along for the ride, just like you.”

“So which one was it?”

“Both.”

And at that moment they both smiled at each other in complete understanding. Their thoughts in absolute sync with the other’s and total agreement on the pair that was Rose and the Doctor.

And them the extrapolator exploded into sparks and the floor started shaking.

“What the...!”


	15. Boom goes the extrapolator

There were sparks flying everywhere and Riley could hear a low rumble coming from underneath that was steadily growing in volume. The entire TARDIS seemed to shake and it was getting worse by the second. At the heart of the commotion were the extrapolator; pulsing with energy and hissing in angry sparks and minor explosions. The unsteady nature of the gadget seemed to spread into the console of the TARDIS and suddenly more explosions took place all over the room.

“Jack!” Riley screamed as the man was showered in fiery sparks while trying to get to the extrapolator.

“Hang on!” He shouts back and starts to rip out wires from the machinery. The extrapolator is flashing madly in response to the treatment but Jack pays it no heed. 

Riley screams wordlessly as the shaking gets worse and she’s thrown to the floor. The doors rip open and in stumbles the Doctor and Bambi who both pause taken aback by the scene in front of them. The Doctor’s eyes zooms in on Jack who is still ripping out wires and hitting buttons wildly.

“What the hell are you doing?” He shouts and sprints forward.

“It just went crazy!” Is the response as another small explosion douses them both in tiny stars. 

“It's the rift!” The Doctor explains hurriedly and starts to look the console over. “Time and space are ripping apart. The whole city's going to disappear!” 

Riley manages to climb back to her feet just in time to get thrown back own as the TARDIS gives a furious shake and the metalwork grunts around them. She hits her head against the railing and feels her brain shatter about in her skull. The blow leaves her on the floor trying desperately not to pass out and she feels a small trickle of blood pour down past her left eye. She grunts heavily and tries to re-focus her eyes while bracing her hands against the grating. She looks up just in time to hear Jack shout something to the Doctor.

“It's the extrapolator! I've disconnected it but it's still feeding off the engine! It's using the TARDIS. I can't stop it!”

“Never mind Cardiff, it's going to rip open the planet!” The Doctor shouts back and Riley can see the both of them working among the explosions and sparks typing away at the console.

She manages to get into a seated position just as Rose bursts through the doors, looking like she’s been running, and asks what’s going on. 

“Oh.” Bambi laughs gleefully, getting all their attention. “Just little me.”

Riley watches in morbid fascination as the Slitheen lady peels of the human suit skin off one of her arms and reaches out to grab Rose, who’s the closest, as a convenient hostage. 

“One wrong move and she snaps like a promise!” She threatens the two men as Riley lay nearly forgotten still on the floor. 

“I might’ve known.” The Doctor sighs.

“I've had you bleating all night, poor baby, now shut it!” She responds hatefully before turning to Jack. “You, fly boy, put the extrapolator at my feet.”

She tightens her grip on Rose’s throat, making the blonde cringe in pain, and Riley can see the Doctor’s face nearly giving way to panic as he nods to Jack. Jack looks pissed but does what Bambi wants all the same and soon enough the board is at her feet. 

“Thank you. Just as I planned.” She says gleefully and takes a surfer’s position. 

“I thought you needed to blow up the nuclear power station.” Rose grunts. Riley meanwhile tries to get up once again but Bambi shoots a look at her clearly saying to “stay put or blondie snaps” so she remains in her uncomfortable seated position while pressing a hand to her wound; which is still bleeding down her face.

“Failing that, if I were to be arrested, then anyone capable of tracking me down would have considerable technology of their own.” Bambi explains with a mocking nod toward the Doctor. “Therefore, they would be captivated by the extrapolator. Especially a magpie mind like yours, Doctor. So the extrapolator was programmed to go to plan B. To lock onto the nearest alien power source and open the rift. And what a power source it found. I'm back on schedule, thanks to you.”

“So basically you’re using the TARDIS as a battery.” Riley summed up annoyed. “That’s so beneath her.”

“Yes well, needs must Darling.” She smirks. 

“The rift's going to convulse. You'll destroy the whole planet!” Jack shouts, unable to comprehend how someone would destroy an entire planet simply for a lift.

“And you with it!” The Slitheen shouts back, big smile on her face, and adjusts her footing on the extrapolator. “While I ride this board over the crest of the inferno all the way to freedom. Stand back, boys. Surf's up.”

For a moment Riley actually thinks that this is it. The world is about to end, again, and there is nothing she can do about it. There is a small fire in the pit of her stomach that rages at the thought, the impudence and sheer nerve of it, but before she can act (probably doing something stupid) she sees the Doctor in the corner of her eye. The man is calm. Absolutely calm. And the fire dies out. If he is calm and not at all panicking (or whatever he does in a crisis) then it can’t be the end. There must be something she’s missing. 

No sooner than she reached that conclusion something happened. The console cracked and moaned and suddenly burst; opening up with a bright shining light and everything stills. 

“Of course, opening the rift means you'll pull this ship apart.” The Doctor speaks up, finally, and his voice is as steady as always.

“So sue me!” Bambi sneers and grips Rose tighter around the neck.

“It's not just any old power source. It's the TARDIS. My TARDIS. The best ship in the universe.” 

Of course he has to gloat, Riley huffs but stays quiet. The light from the console is shining on Bambi, illuminating the alien while everything else seems to darken. Riley isn’t sure what, but something has definitely changed. 

“It'll make wonderful scrap.” 

“What’s that light?” Rose asks confused but there is wonder in her voice. Jack leans in closer to get a better look but the Doctor signals him to stay put. Bambi on the other hand seems to finally notice that something’s off and stares into the light as if it could tell her what.

“The heart of the TARDIS. This ship's alive. You've opened its soul.” The Doctor explains and Riley can hear a sort of sadness in those words, as if he can feel his ship’s pain.

Speaking of pain; Riley was really starting to feel her own. The bleeding seemed to have stopped but there was a throbbing, pulsating feeling on her forehead that drummed out everything else. She probably had a concussion.

“It’s so bright.” Bambi speaks up in awe.

“Look at it, Margaret.” The Doctor encourages.

“Beautiful.” The Slitheen breaths.

“Look inside, Blon Fel Fotch. Look at the light.” 

What are they doing? Riley can’t really focus too well but she sees Bambi release Rose and turn to fully stare into the light. Rose runs over to the Doctor’s side and they all watch as something changes in the Slitheen’s composure. The lines are starting to get kind of blurry though and Riley was starting to feel a little less alert. 

She vaguely hear Bambi saying thank you but more than that she feel her body tilting. What was she doing again?

There was a bright light somewhere, growing brighter by the second, but Riley closes her eyes and sees no more. 

=================================================

 

“Riley? Come on. Open your eyes.” There is a voice somewhere. It’s somewhat annoying. “Come on.”

Slowly the world brightens around her and the darkness slips away as she climbs her way into wakefulness. She’s laying down on a bed somewhere and someone is standing over her with a flashlight. No wait, not a flashlight, a sonic screwdriver. 

“There we go!” The Doctor exclaims happily. “Welcome back.”

“Huh.” Looking around the room she realizes she must be in some sort of sickbay; the walls are a light shade or grey and there are several beds and tools and machines that all look distinctly hospital-y. 

“You passed out, remember?” The Doctor explains as he helps her sit up. “You hit your head real bad earlier.”

“Right.” She nods. “The extrapolator.”

“Exactly.” He agrees. “From the sound of the hit I knew you had a concussion but there was no time to deal with it right then. I must say, you held on to consciousness a lot longer than I thought you would.”

“What? I didn’t even realize you saw me.” She shook her head slightly, trying to clear her mind from the stubborn haze that unconsciousness brought with it.

“Of course I saw you.” The Doctor tutted. “You’re fine now though. Just need some Vitamin C into your system and you’ll be as good as new. Not even a scar.”

“Right.” She mumbled and accepted the glass or orange juice that he had somehow produced out of nowhere. “What happened though? With... everything?”

“Oh, it’s all over and done with. The TARDIS looked into Blon Fel Fotch’s mind, read her soul, and turned her into an egg.” He explained as clear as day, except it wasn’t.

“Huh? What? An egg?” Maybe she still was a little concussed.

“Yep.” He popped the ´p´ all smiles and cheer. “We’re on our way to drop her off at Raxacoricofallapatorius.”

“Right.” She said slowly before deciding that the details didn’t matter. “So I get to see Raxacoricofallapatorius? Fun!”

“Hey, nicely done, getting the name right.” He gave her thumbs up. “And yeah, unless you want to go home.”

“Not really.”

“Then yeah.” He clapped his hands together and stood up. “Come on, the other’s are in the console room. Let’s go deliver an egg.”

“Hah, like the stork.” She laughed and followed him out into the hallway.

“Ooh, there’s the analogy I was looking for.” He cheered. “Good job, Riley.”

No, she really didn’t feel like going home. Home was constant, it wouldn’t change, but the TARDIS was always moving and ever-changing. Home would always be there, waiting for her, but she was in the mood for an adventure. And what better place to find one than here.


	16. The very white room

Riley was confused. Actually, she was beyond confused. One minute everything was fine and the next… what the hell? 

She was lying down, her head was pounding and there was an eerie silence echoing around her. The floor felt off somehow… no, not the floor, she was lying on iron grating. She was in the TARDIS console room! On the floor…? What had happened again?

The others, where were the others? That’s why the silence was weird; there wasn’t supposed to be any silence. The others were noisy and so were the TARDIS so why was there silence? 

“Ungh.” She slowly sat up, her hands holding her head as if it would fall off and opened her eyes.

Yep, console room. But she was alone. What happened to the others? Why was she on the floor to begin with?

Struggling up to her feet Riley started going through what she remembered from before passing out. They had just escaped Kyoto in 1336, the battle of Minatogawa still raging on at their heels, and were just relaxing and winding down in the TARDIS when something happened. A light, there had been a light, coming from nowhere and encasing them. That’s the last she could remember; she must have passed out shortly after. 

But she woke up, perfectly fine, still in the TARDIS. So where were the others? Rose, Jack and the Doctor? What was going on?

Stumbling into the chair at the side of the console she called out for the person who might be able to answer.

“Sexy! Where are you?” God, her head hurt. “Sexy?”

“No need to sound all sad and pitiful, youngling. I am here.” A voice spoke up to her left, and sure enough there she was. This time Sexy had taken on the Doctor’s image and was wearing his “comforting” face.

“Sexy? Where are they? What happened?” 

“Transmat beam.” She (he?) answered as if that explained everything.

“What?” Her head was pounding, she was feeling nauseous and the damn machine she called friend was being cheeky.

“A powerful one. The transmat transported the others, I don’t know where, but it left you behind. I don’t know why.” The image of the Doctor scrunched its face together. “I don’t like not knowing.”

“Yeah, well. Welcome to the club.” Riley grimaced, not really feeling very sympathetic at the moment. 

“Do you remember where the sickbay is?” The image flickered briefly.

“Yes.” She would have nodded but something told her that was a bad idea.

“First cabinet on the right, third drawer from the top, green bottle with blue pills. Take two and drink some water. Your headache will go away.” The image disappeared completely startling Riley before a ghost like voice whispered “I’ve got some calculations to do.”

“Right.” Riley sighed and decided to take the advice. “Third from the top.”

Was it actually possible to feel motion sickness from just walking? God, this was worse than her concussion. Stupid transmat. 

==============================================================================

Two blue pills later and Riley’s head was no longer banging like bongo drums and she could focus a little better on what was going on. She wandered back to the console room at a slow but steady pace while thinking about her situation.

“A weird transmat beam from nowhere stole my friends away but left me behind.” She mumbled to the walls, as if that would help make sense of everything; it didn’t. “There are so many questions to get from that.”

She sighed in frustration and pulled at her hair. “Che! Why does so few things ever make sense?”

Upon arrival in the console room she called out for Sexy but received no reply. Whatever calculations her friend was doing, they were still ongoing, which left Riley to her own devises. 

She turned to the door, a thoughtful frown donning her face, and started walking towards it.

“You’ll tell me if it’s dangerous on the other side, right?” She asked the thin air hopefully. “Or like, give me a sign or something?”  
Silence.

“I’ll take that as a yes.” Riley steeled herself and reached out for the handle before pausing, giving the machine one last chance to tell her off. Still nothing. “Okay then.”  
She opened the door.

“Well, this isn’t confusing at all.” She mumbled sarcastically and stepped out of the door fully to look around. “A great big white room.”

All white, no windows or furniture, just whiteness and emptiness and the TARDIS. Nothing to tell her why they were there or where the others were, just… lots and lots of whiteness. It was making her eyes hurt a little; that’s how white it was. The blue design of the TARDIS really stood out in sharp contrast. Riley took a short walk around the blue box to inspect the room further but all she found was a door; a locked one.

“This feels really ominous.” She grunted as she tried to pry it open with no success. She sighed heavily and smacked the door in annoyance before giving up and walking back into the TARDIS. 

“Hey!” She called out. “Have you figured anything out yet?” Silence. “I’m starting to feel a bit nervous, I’ll have you know.” More silence. “And alone. Very alone.”

The screen on the other side of the console lit up suddenly, startling Riley out of her tirade. She looked around but saw no apparition of Sexy anywhere so she walked up to the screen to see what her friend had come up with.

“You can’t be serious.”

===============================================================================

_“Oh, my God, I don't think she knows.”_

_“And I've got a housemate who appeared out of nowhere. I told you, it's like the game's running itself.”_

===============================================================================

Riley was sitting on the floor in the white room, her back up against the TARDIS, and staring at the stubborn door which refused to budge no matter what she did. She had even tried banging on it and screaming for help which only resulted in bruised knuckles but no response. 

In her left hand she held her mobile phone which was still working perfectly fine but somehow unable to connect either to Jack, Rose or the Doctor. It was like their phones were shut off or something. She was really starting to worry.

Transmat beams, Sexy had showed her, hundreds and hundreds of transmat beams. Different ones, with different signals, but all functional and beaming people everywhere all the time. Sexy had shown her a schematic of how many beams that were in effect; thousands! And all working somewhere close; beaming people from somewhere to really near where they were holed up. The others could have been beamed super close to where Riley currently was sitting but she somehow couldn’t get in touch with either of them. Something was going on, something big, all around her but for some reason Riley had been placed in some sealed off room away from it all. 

If only she knew what was happening! Sexy couldn’t get any good readings from outside the room, outside of the transmat beams. The TARDIS had also calculated the amount of power it would take to transmat someone from inside the TARDIS to someplace outside; it was enormous! Riley wasn’t even sure how to pronounce it with that many numbers. Someone really powerful had taken her friends and locked her and Sexy in a weird room and just left them there. 

She leaned her head against the blue façade and sighed again. The most irritating bit though, the thing that really got her, was that she couldn’t do anything about it. She was stuck there! 

And then her mobile rang.

=============================================================================

_“You are the weakest link. Goodbye.”_

_“Don't try to escape. It's play or die.”_

==============================================================================

It was aunt Sarah.

“Great.” Riley laughed without humor. “I can’t reach the Doctor or Rose or Jack but my aunt can reach me. I feel like there’s supposed to be a comment about irony in there somewhere.”

Not really having anything better to do she decided to answer. Her aunt didn’t know where she was (not that Riley knew now either) or that she was traveling with aliens and Riley didn’t know how much time had passed but she figured now was as good a time as any to have a serious talk with her guardian. The last she’d seen her aunt was right before Cardiff and the earthquake with Bambi and then she’d been away on some convention for work; for Riley that was almost a full week ago, for Sarah she didn’t know. 

“Aunt Sarah.” She answered. “Fancy hearing from you.”

“You are in a lot of trouble young woman!” Her aunt’s voice carried through the speaker. She didn’t sound all that angry so maybe it hadn’t been a full week back on Earth but she definitely sounded upset.

“I am?” Riley wasn’t sure exactly what she’d done wrong but she figured it had something to do with her impromptu (and without permission) trip to Cardiff. 

“Jared tells me he hasn’t seen you since yesterday and your bed has not been slept in.” Sarah seemed to be gritting her teeth. “I only just arrived back home an hour ago myself but it is way after your curfew.”

Not knowing what time it was back home, Riley simply took her aunts word for it. “Yeah, I spent the night elsewhere.”

“Without asking for permission! And where are you right now? I want you home immediately!”

“That might be a bit difficult.” Riley hedged and looked around her predicament again. “I’m not exactly close by.”

“Well, where are you? And who are you with? Are you with Mrs. Tyler again? You know I want to know if you’re spending the night over at her place.” Sarah sighed.

“No, I’m not with Jackie, though I am with her daughter.” –ish, she didn’t know where Rose was at the moment but she’d been spending time with the blonde until very recently so she figured it applied. 

“Her daughter?” Riley could just picture the look of confusion on Sarah’s face. “But isn’t she off traveling somewhere?”

“Well, yes.” Riley nodded even though her aunt couldn’t see her before deciding to take the proverbial plunge. “You remember that day about a year ago, when Downing Street blew up?”

“…yes.”

“Remember the man we were with, Rose and I? You met him briefly when we came back to the estate.”

“I don’t see what this has got to do with anything…”

“It has everything to do with it.” Riley paused before simply spitting it out. “He’s an alien. Like a proper alien, with a spaceship and everything.”

“Riley…” There was a warning in her voice now, like she thought her niece was taking the mickey out of her.

“Ask Jackie if you don’t believe me, or Mickey, they both know the truth.” She shrugged absently. “Anyway, that’s where I am. With Rose and the Doctor, the alien you know, on his spaceship. Well, strictly speaking I am sitting outside it right now but you get the point. We were in Kyoto yesterday you know, back in 1336. His ship can time travel. Isn’t that awesome!” 

“I have never heard anything as convoluted as this! You get your silly little person back home right now, missy!” Aunt Sarah clearly didn’t believe her.

“I can’t. And I’m telling the truth, whether you believe it or not don’t really make a difference.” Riley wished she had a tennis ball or something, to play with as this white room of nothingness was starting to get really boring. “We’re sort of… stuck at the moment, so I’m not getting anywhere anytime soon. You should really talk to Jackie; she’ll explain it better for you. Tell her I said hi.”

And with that she hung up.

She was probably going to pay for that later but right now she didn’t care. Her worry had eased into boredom and she was getting really sick of white rooms. 

What the hell was going on?

=========================================================================

_“But the rumours go back decades, saying that something's been hidden up here. Underneath the transmissions.”_

=========================================================================

Riley sat outside for a while longer, playing Snake on her mobile, before a being noise brought her attention back to the console room. Standing up and walking back inside she saw that the screen had come to life once more and was calling for her.

“All right, what have you got for me this time?”

Taking a closer look revealed a bunch of numbers and symbols that really didn’t make sense. Riley stared for a few moments before looking up to the room.

“You realize I don’t speak genius, right?” She asked. “Or spaceship? Why can’t you just come out?”

She received no answer but more beeping noises and the screen flashed once before settling down again. Looking back Riley now could understand what Sexy was trying to tell her.

“Space coordinates?” She frowned and leaned in closer. “You’ve figured out where we are?”

The screen beeped again and an image flickered up right next to the numbers.

“But that’s Earth.” Riley recognized it immediately. “We’re on Earth?”

Another beep, another image.

“Right, not on Earth but close by.” She looked closer. “Is that some sort of space station? Is that where we are?”

The word “correct” appeared on screen for a few seconds before disappearing again. 

“Well there’s that question answered. Now we just have a few hundred more to solve and we’re in business.”

The room rumbled around her, telling her that sarcasm was not appreciated. 

“Yeah, yeah.” She waved it off. “Any luck figuring out when we are?”

The screen flashed again.

“Blimey. That’s a bit further than I expected.”

=============================================================================

_“Stay in there, you've got a fifty-fifty chance of disintegration. Stay with me, I promise I'll get you out alive. Come on!”_

=============================================================================

Riley was wandering the halls of the TARDIS; no real goal or any specific direction in mind, simply wandering. Sexy was refusing to show herself, still calculating or whatever, and the teen had gotten bored of white walls. She wasn’t sure exactly where she was or even how to get back to the console room but didn’t worry; Sexy, no matter how busy, would never let her get lost. 

So far she had passed the library and two of the wardrobes but she must have taken a weird turn somewhere because she no longer recognized her surroundings. 

She walked by a room that looked a lot like a painter’s workshop and further down saw room filled completely with snow globes. Some rooms had signs outside, with letters and numbers like some sort of organized system, but others didn’t even have proper doors, instead curtains or even a white picket fence one time. If there was in fact a system she had yet to understand it. 

She came by another workshop which seemed like something the Doctor would frequent; it was filled with machines and metallic tools and the like. She even saw a bunch of old sonic screwdrivers on the workbench that looked nothing like the blue silvery stick the Doctor was using now. Venturing inside to take a closer look she spotted several interesting things (a Christmas tree made completely of metal, a pimped up stereo, some sort of robot straight out of Star Wars and so on) but dared not touch anything. It was the Doctor’s workshop after all, no telling if it was safe or not. 

She did see something she had to look closer at though. On one of the workbenches to her right lay something rather inconspicuous that caught her eye almost immediately 

“Unbelievable.” She laughed. “Of all the places to leave it.”

It was another wallet with a psychic paper. 

“Huh, it must be the spare.” She mused smilingly. She turned it over in her hands before deciding, in a spur moments decision, to put it in her pocket. She could always give it back later. 

She kept on wandering.

=====================================================================

_“Oh, my God, she's with the Anne Droid. You've got to get her out of there!”_

=====================================================================

She was back outside the TARDIS in the white room, this time a tennis ball in hand that she’d found in a room that reminded her of a locker room back at school. She was seated yet again on the floor, back against the TARDIS’ panels and facing the door; throwing the ball against the wall and catching it. 

This situation was driving her mad; not being able to do anything of value. The others better be coming for her soon or she might lose her mind out of boredom. 

Throw, bounce, catch. Throw, bounce, catch. 

At least there are no Japanese warriors trying to skewer her with arrows and spears anymore. That’s always something, right? 

God, she was bored. 

=====================================================================

_“You killed her! Your stupid freaking game show killed her!”_

_“Sir, I'm arresting you under Private Legislation Sixteen of the Game Station Syndicate.”_

=====================================================================

Throw, bounce, catch. Throw, bounce, catch. 

Her phone rang again, making her lose her concentration and miss the ball. She watched it bounce around the white room as she dug out her mobile from her trousers. It was Aunt Sarah again.

She didn’t answer. Instead she sighed, placed it back into her jeans pocket and stood up to get her tennis ball back. She could call back later. Or maybe just explain in person. If she ever got out of here.

Throw, bounce, catch. Throw, bounce, catch. 

=====================================================================

_“Let's do it.”_

=====================================================================

Riley was singing. It was out of tune and her rhythm kept interrupting at the sound of the tennis ball hitting the wall and then the floor but it was all she could do to keep from falling asleep.

“I've heard there was a secret chord   
That David played, and it pleased the Lord  
 But you don't really care for music, do you?   
It goes like this   
The fourth, the fifth  
 The minor fall, the major lift   
The baffled king composing Hallelujah”

All of the students Riley’s age were supposed to sing that song at the school assembly next month and they’d been practicing during gym. Riley wasn’t really a believer of God but she liked the idea of some sort of higher being... a creator. To her the Bible and the Koran and any other holy texts they’ve read about in school were stories; amazing stories with lessons worth learning. 

And she liked the song. She liked the melody and the feeling of it.

“Baby I have been here before  
 I know this room, I've walked this floor  
 I used to live alone before I knew you.   
I've seen your flag on the marble arch  
 Love is not a victory march   
It's a cold and it's a broken Hallelujah”

Throw, bounce, catch. Throw, bounce, catch. 

“Hallelujah.”

==================================================================

_“Do I look like an out of bounds sort of guy?”_

==================================================================

If Riley had known what was going on just outside the door of the white room she might have stood up and stopped throwing around her tennis ball but as it was; she didn’t know and simply kept throwing the ball against the door.

And so, when Captain Jack Harkness gained access and opened up the door to archive six, said tennis ball hit him square in the face. 

“Oops.”


	17. The room is still white

Riley stared in chock. The door had opened; like seriously opened. The stupid door in the stupid white room had opened, rather unexpectedly at that. 

Jack’s reaction went somewhat similarly. Except he had guns, two of them, really big ones. And the second he opened the door to archive six he was assaulted by a flying object (read: tennis ball) which hit him straight in the face. He reacted the same way any armed ex-military person would; he pointed said guns at the person which had thrown said object before he even had time to properly process what he was seeing. 

“Oops.” Riley grimaced at seeing her tennis ball bounce of Jack’s forehead, not even so much as fazed by the two huge weapons pointed at her person. 

Jack blinked.

“Sorry.” She shrugged. “But I wasn’t expecting the door to open. I wasn’t even sure it could open, it’s been closed since forever.”

Jack made a sound akin to a laugh except it was too unbelieving.

“Well, not really forever. But it sure feels that way.” Riley explained all normal like before standing up and dusting herself off. She turned to the former con-man and gave a big grin. “And finally!”

Jack barely had time to lower his weapons before she barrelled straight into him making them both laugh.

“Little bird!” His arms found their way around her body and squeezed. “This is where you’ve been? I was looking but couldn’t find you anywhere. I was beginning to think… never mind, you’re here!”

“Yep.” She popped the ‘p’. “Been here every since that weird transmat took you all away. It’s been really boring. And confusing. But mostly boring.”

“I’ll bet.” He laughed and looked toward the TARDIS. “At least you had company.”

“Not really.” She huffed, still miffed about the silence from her friend. “She’s been all busy calculating something or other.”

“Calculating?” Jack mused as they both entered the box. He went straight to the console screen and started pressing buttons, although how he knew which ones to press Riley had no idea – it’s not like they had any convenient labels or anything. She watched him working his way through… something… she really didn’t understand any of it but he clearly had a goal in mind so she decided it best to simply let him be.

She sat silently in the sofa at his back and waited. 

“What the hell?” He spoke up suddenly and pressed a few more buttons before focusing fully on the screen.

“What?” Riley hopped off the sofa and went to take a look. “It’s just a bunch of numbers.”

“Oh, birdie.” That was a terrifying grin, Riley mused as she saw it spread over his face, seriously. “It is so much more than numbers.”

Before she had time process what he could have possibly meant by that, he had grabbed her and dragged her out of the TARDIS and through the door out to… whatever it was that was behind the stupid white door (the room had ruined the color white for her, she just knew it). 

It seemed to be some sort of control center; computers and work desk’s and people dressed all office-like. It was rather dark, with a blue sort of light, and everybody (rather few actually) seemed to be gathered at the far end. 

“Doctor!” She called out, happy to see him. Now the only one missing was Rose; she looked around but the blonde was nowhere to be seen. She frowned.

“Riley.” The doctor nodded, briefly relieved, before focusing on the people around once more. She didn’t take it to heart; he was in “trouble-mode” at the moment, running through scenarios and figuring out solutions by the hundreds every second, they could have a reunion hug later. And there would be a hug; make no mistake.

“Found the TARDIS.” Jack waved his attention back. “And Riley, as you’ve seen.”

“We’re not leaving now.” The Doctor shook his head, rather forcefully, and Riley wondered yet again where Rose was. The Doctor was acting… weird, cold almost, and she figured it must have something to do with Rose.

“Who said anything about leaving?” She interrupted and walked over to her favourite alien person ever. “Although I am rather confused as to what we’re doing here and what’s going on but it’s not finished, yeah? That means we’re not leaving. And nobody is suggesting we are.”

The Doctor spared her a weak grin.

“No, we’re not leaving. But the TARDIS worked it out.” Jack agreed and then gestured toward a woman standing next to the Doctor that Riley hadn’t noticed before. “You'll want to watch this. Lynda, could you stand over there for me please?”

The woman, who seemed nervous, gently shook her head. “I just want to go home.”

“It'll only take a second. Could you stand in that spot, quick as you can.” Jack reassured her and pointed her at some random spot. Lynda hurried over and looked between Jack and the Doctor, unsure what was going to happen. “Everybody watching? Okay. three, two, one.”

As he hit zero he flipped a switch of some kind and Riley jumped at what happened next. A beam, like lightning, struck down right on top of Lynda and suddenly she was gone. 

“Wow.”

“But you killed her!” The Doctor shouted angrily making Riley look at him. She was dead? Like disintegrated or something? Clearly she had missed a lot holed up in that stupid white room. 

“Oh, do you think?” Jack grinned and hit another button and Lynda reappeared again in the other end of the room. 

“What the hell was that?” She asked confused and disorientated.

“It's a transmat beam. Not a disintegrator, a secondary transmat system. People don't get killed in the games. They get transported across space. Doctor, Rose is still alive!”

Riley looked on in absolut confusion as the two males laughed and grinned and hugged and generally acted ecstatic. ”What do you mean she’s alive? Of course she is.”

The two turned to her and Jack opened his mouth to explain but she shook her head. ”Whatever. It doesn’t matter. She’s alive; yay and all that. Although I am a little miffed you didn’t tell me you thought she was dead.” She gave the captain her best glare and Jack, ’lo and behold, actually shrunk a little at that. Apparently she could glare like the best of them.

”Well, I would have gotten to it… eventually.” He murmured sullenly. 

”Someone is going to have to explain all this at some point.” Riley raised a finger warningly. ”I feel distinctly out of the loop.”

”She’s out there somewhere.” The Doctor, apparently not having been paying any attention to them whatsoever, sighed both in relief and determination. Riley could see him physically gearing up for the task at hand and God help who stood in his way now. It would have made her a little scared if it didn’t make her smile. 

”Doctor. Coordinates five point six point one…” a voice at the back spoke up, startling Riley slightly. 

Turning about she saw, and she has no clue how she could have possibly missed it the first time around (seriously, how?), a person all wired up to a wall. A person… all wired up… at the far wall… plugged into computers and stuff… like it was no big deal… if there ever was a quota for weirdness; Riley feels like she’s filled it up for a good few years ahead. What. The. Bloody. Hell? 

The Doctor swerved around extremely quickly and there was a sense of urgency in his voice when he spoke. ”Don't, the solar flare's gone. They'll hear you.”

”They who?” Riley asked no one in particular but no one seemed inclined to answer her. She really was totally out of the loop. 

”Point four three four.” The woman, because it obviously was a woman, kept rambling numbers that probably had some importance (Riley hoped someone was memorising these because they seemed vital to something or other - and sure enough, she saw the Doctor and some other guy sitting at a computer writing furiously) and then she smiled; her near-albino like appearance lighting up in glee but also fear. ”No, my masters, no! I defy you! Stigma seven seven…”

Riley jumped as there was bright flash and the woman disappeared with a gut wrenching scream that she would never forget. She blinked dumbly at the harness where before there had been a person which now was empty and found herself hoping that wherever she had gone, the woman had done so painlessly. Not a very good bet, she knew, but a girl could hope. 

”They took her.” The Doctor spelled out. Yes, Riley thought, they certainly did.


	18. Preparations

Riley shook herself in order to get back on point. The strange woman that had helped may have been taken but Rose was still out there, even though she hadn’t even been aware of the blonde’s disappearance to begin with, but now that she knew she just wanted her back.

”Was that enough?” She asked the Doctor, The look on his face told her that no, it wasn’t.

”We’re still missing numbers.” Jack punched the table.

”Look, use that. It might contain the final numbers. I kept a log of all the unscheduled transmissions.” One of the crew gave Jack some sort of device. 

Jack took it with a flirtatious smile, making Riley smile in return; at least some things were never going to change. 

”Nice, Thanks. Captain Jack Harkness, by the way.” Yep, definitely flirtatious.

”I'm Davitch Pavale.” The man introduced.

”Nice to meet you, Davitch Pavale.” Jack leaned in closer but didn’t get very far.

”There is a time and place.” The Doctor reminded him and took the device and started fiddling with it. 

”More pressing concerns.” Riley agreed as she stepped closer. ”So whatever took that lady just now, it also took Rose?”

”Presumably.” The Doctor answered distractedly.

”Are you saying this entire set up's been a disguise all along?” Another crew member spoke up, a woman. The Doctor turned to face her.

”Going way back. Installing the Jagrafess a hundred years ago.” The Doctor nodded. ”Someone's been playing a long game, controlling the human race from behind the scenes for generations.”

”Jagra-what-now?” She was ignored. Naturally.

”Click on this.” Jack directed the Doctor on the screen, having connected the device to the computer-system. ”The transmat delivers to that point, right on the edge of the solar system.”

A screen on the wall lighted up and they all turned to watch.

”There’s nothing there.” The woman from earlier spoke up.

”Is it hidden?” Riley squinted, as if that would make it visible. ”Like, stealth mode, or something?”

”Yes, that’s exactly it.” The Doctor gave her a brief grin. ”It looks like nothing because that's what this satellite does. Underneath the transmission there's another signal.”

”Doing what?”

”Hiding whatever's out there. Hiding it from sonar, radar, scanner. Stealth mode. There’s something sitting right on top of planet Earth, but it's completely invisible.” He started pushing buttons. ”If I cancel the signal…”

The screen flickered and suddenly the scene was no longer empty. 

Wow, Riley couldn’t help to think, despite the serious situation. An actual flying saucer.

The picture on the screen started zooming outwards, revealing even more spaceships. So many spaceships.

Next to her Jack took a deep breath. ”That's impossible. I know those ships. They were destroyed.”

”Obviously, they survived.” The Doctor said sardonically. There was a defeated tone to his voice, like he’d resigned himself to what was to come.

”Who did?” The young woman that Jack had used the transmat on to prove his point, asked. ”Who are they?”

”Two hundred ships. More than two thousand on board each one. That's just about half a million of them.” The Doctor did some quick calculations, not actually answering the question.

”Half a million what?” Pavale asked.

”Daleks.”

================================================================

Riley knew what a Dalek was. But more to the point, she knew what they were to the Doctor. Sexy had told her. And she had seen the records in the library, detailing the Time War. She’d even located an old projector-film in one the many rooms inside the TARDIS that showed the Daleks in action; even in black and white and with no sound they were still scary. Probably because she actually knew what they were capable of. 

So when the Doctor announced that they were up against aleks, yes, she got a little scared. It was only natural. But more than that, she got angry. The Doctor had lost everything, everyone he ever loved, to that stupid war. He was alone. But the Daleks; there they were, in great numbers and surrounding them, as if it was nothing. 

She did the only thing she could do, the only thing the situation allowed for, and took a hold of the Doctor’s hand. Just briefly giving it a squeeze, without even looking at him. 

And then the holo-screen flickered again. It no longer showed the hundreds of ships, but rather the inside of one of them. And Rose. Rose was there.

One of the Daleks on the screen faced them and started speaking, in that raspy voice. ”I will talk to the Doctor.”

”Oh, will you.” The Doctor sassed. Riley wasn’t fooled though, she could sense the storm that was brewing inside of him. One look at Jack and she knew he could feel it too. ”That’s nice. Hello.”

”The Dalek stratagem nears completion. The fleet is almost ready. You will not intervene.” It wasn’t even an order, it was a statement. 

”Oh really, why’s that then?” He challenged.

”We have your associate.” Their eyes automatically got drawn to Rose. ”You will obey or she will be exterminated.”

”No.”

They all turned to look at him in surprise. No? Really? What exactly was he saying ”no” to? No, I will not obey? No, she will not be exterminated? No, I don’t agree to your terms? Maybe all of them at once.

They weren’t the only confused, it would seem. 

”Explain yourself.” The head-dalek demanded. It sounded like he/it/they (what is the proper pronoun of a Dalek, anyway?) couldn’t quite compute this irrational response. Not that anyone of them could either. Riley studied the Doctor’s face for any clue but all she could see was determination.

”I said no.” Precise, clear and straight to the point.

”What is the meaning of this negative?” The Dalek persisted.

”They sound really confused.” Riley mumbled to Jack.

”They’re not the only ones.” He answered.

”It would be funny if not for Rose.” They both nodded.

”It means no.” The Doctor explained, yet again.

”But she will be destroyed.” The Dalek apparently felt the need to point out.

”No!” The Doctor shouted. He stood up from his seated position and marched toward the screen. ”Because this is what I'm going to do. I'm going to rescue her.”

Riley couldn’t help but to smile. There he was, that was the Doctor. Not the sad and dejected Doctor he’d been when she first emerged from that stupid white room, but this version of him now. Unstoppable and like a freight train. 

”I'm going to save Rose Tyler from the middle of the Dalek fleet, and then I'm going to save the Earth, and then, just to finish off, I'm going to wipe every last stinking Dalek out of the sky!”

Riley felt the need to whoop, but restrained herself. It wouldn’t be appropriate. 

”But you have no weapons, no defences, no plan.” Was it just Riley or was the Dalek sounding nervous?

”Yeah.” The Doctor grinned cockily. ”And doesn’t that just scare you to death?”

She laughed. Jack laughed. It was short and not very loud, but they both laughed. The other people in the room, the ones that had been working before the Doctor had shown up and torn their world apart a bit, looked at them funny, probably thinking them mad.

”Rose?” He was addressing her directly now.

”Yes, Doctor?” The blonde seemed slightly shaken up but otherwise fine.

”I'm coming to get you.” A promise.

He pointed the sonic screwdriver at the screen and it died down. 

”So, we’re getting her now, right?” Riley asked as he turned around. 

”Oh, yes.” He sprinted toward the white room, where the TARDIS was located but stopped shortly and turned back around. ”You lot!”

They all turned to watch him. He pointed at Pavale.

”We need to get people off this station!” He gestured wildly. ”All of the players. All of the staff. There is a fleet of Daleks out there and you just disobeyed them.”

”Get them off?” One of the women asked confusedly. ”But the games are still going.”

”Then turn them off!” He shouted at her. ”Just do it!”

”Alright.” Pavale, by far the most reasonable of them, Riley thought, started writing on his computer. ”You’re right.”

”But…?” The woman started.

”He’s right!” He interrupted. ”We have to save them.”

”Good.” The Doctor nodded and turned around again. ”Now we’re leaving.”

Riley and Jack followed again.

”You’re leaving?” The woman from before, Lynda was it? asked him as he jogged past her.

”Not for long.” He spoke over his shoulder. ”Be right back.”

”Come on!” Jack took a hold of her arm and together they ran after him.

”How exactly are we going to go about this then?” Riley asked as they entered the TARDIS. ”I mean, it is a Dalek fleet, right? We just go bursting through and hope for the best?”

”More or less.” The Doctor started pushing levers.

”Okay.” She took a breath to steady herself. First no action and nothing to do and now there was almost too much. Life with the Doctor in a nutshell.

Her phone started ringing again. 

”What is that?” The Doctor paused to look around himself wildly.

”Is that a phone?” Jack started looking for the source.

”Yeah, sorry.” She fished it out of her pocket and looked at the screen. ”My aunt’s been calling me. Never mind.”

She muted it. 

”Shouldn’t you answer? She might be worried.” Jack wondered as the Doctor returned his attention to the console.

”Oh, I know she is.” Riley sighed. ”But there are more important things going on right now, wouldn’t you say?”

He nodded. ”I’ll give you that one.”

”Ready?” The Doctor interrupted. ”We’re entering Dalek space in three, two, one…”

One of the monitors started beeping and somewhere above them a klaxon went off. Riley hurried after Jack who started pressing buttons at the monitor.

”We’ve got incoming!” He shouted a warning.

”Ready!” The Doctor pressed one final lever and not one second too late. Riley braced herself against the railing as they flew through space. The whole ship started shaking violently but remained relatively unharmed.

”The extrapolator's working. We've got a fully functional forcefield.” Jak laughed gleefully. ”Try saying that when you're drunk.”

”And for my next trick!” The Doctor started inputting something into the console and suddenly the TARDIS was making landing noises.

Riley looked on in amazement as two figured started materialising on the walkway, on of which was definitely Rose. 

”It’s working!” She laughed. They were materialising around the blonde. And one Dalek. Oops.

”Rose!” The Doctor got her attention. ”Get down!”

The blonde reacted quickly, diving to the ground just as the Dalek levelled its weapon at them and shouted ”Exterminate!”. It never got that far though as Jack, as soon as Rose hit the deck, had trained his large gun (wherever had he gotten that?) on the evil pepper pot and fired. 

It blew up. 

Rose shakily got off the ground and turned toward them with her widest smile. ”You did it.”

”Don’t sound so surprised.” Riley laughed as the Doctor hugged his Rose.

”Feels like I haven't seem you in years.” Rose smiled.

”I told you I'd come and get you.” The Doctor reminded her. Riley and Jack looked on with indulgent smiles. It was like they didn’t even exist in the same bubble at the moment. They both knew it, too.

”Never doubted you.” She informed him.

”I did.” The Doctor grinned before turning slightly more serious. ”You alright?”

”Yeah. You?”

”Not bad, been better.” He admitted.

”I’m fine, in case anyone is wondering.” Riley interjected. 

”Me too.” Jack waved. ”And where’s my hug?”

”Oh, come here.” Rose laughed and embraced him happily before turning to the youngest. ”You alright, though? Didn’t see you before.”

”Yeah, I’m fine. No idea what happened or why I wasn’t included with whatever, but all good.” Riley gave a weak smile and gladly gave in to the hug.

”You were too young.” Jack spoke up. 

”What?”

”The games, I asked. You’re only available from eighteen and upward. You were too young.” He explained with a shrug. ”That’s why when I found you I thought… well, no matter.”

”Thanks.” She told him.

”For what?” He seemed confused.

”For thinking of me.”

He looked surprised but it quickly went away and was replaced with the kindest smile she’d ever seen him wear. ”Always.”

”Oh, I thought I was never going to see you all again.” Rose gave a nervous laugh.

”Oh, you were lucky.” Jack immediately returned to his cheeky self. ”That was just a one shot wonder. Drained the gun of all its power supply. Now it's just a piece of junk.”

”Yeah, about that.” Rose turned to the Doctor, who had been watching them quietly. ”You said they were extinct. How comes they're still alive?”

”Yeah.” Jack agreed. ”One minute they're the greatest threat in the Universe, the next minute they vanished out of time and space.”

”They went off to fight a bigger war. The Time War.” The Doctor told them.

”I thought that was just a legend.” Jack was surprised.

”I was there.” His eyes seemed far off, as if thinking back to the horrors of all those years ago. ”The war between the Daleks and the Time Lords, with the whole of creation at stake. My people were destroyed, but they took the Daleks with them. I almost thought it was worth it. Now it turns out they died for nothing.”

”Not nothing.” Riley spoke adamantly. ”Never nothing. Just imagine, how worse it would have been if they didn’t. How many more Daleks.”

He looked at her. She stared back at him. He looked away.

”But there's thousands of them now. We could hardly stop one. What're we going to do?” Rose could genuinely not see an out to the situation. 

”No good stood round here chin wagging.” The Doctor clapped his hands together, all energy and ideas again - the solemnity of past wars gone from his posture. ”Human race, you'd gossip all day. The Daleks have got the answers. Let's go and meet the neighbours.”

He rushed across the walkway and to the door before either of them could react.

”No! You can’t go out there!” Rose rushed after him, the other two quick to follow. 

Riley had barely set foot on the doorstep before she heard the numerous shouts of ”Exterminate! Exterminate!” from the outside and stepping out she saw why. About a dozen or so Daleks, just outside the door, firing their laser-like weapons at them. She flinched at the sound of their guns firing but no beam reached them. The Doctor stood proudly in front of his arch-enemies and smiled at their failure to wound them. Apparently that handy forcefield they got from Bambi’s extrapolator was still functional. Good to know.

The salva let up.

”s that it? Useless! Nul points.” The Doctor commented, as if he was a judge at some show. He turned to his companions who all had hesitated right by the door. ”It's all right, come on out. That forcefield can hold back anything.”

”Almost anything.” Jack pointed out, making Riley face-palm.

”Yes, but I wasn't going to tell them that. Thanks.” The Doctor told him.

”Sorry.” Jack apologised sheepishly.

”Seriously?” Riley jabbed him in the arm. ”Honestly.”

He stuck out his tongue at her briefly before turning his attention back to the more pressing concern of the Daleks surrounding them. 

”Do you know what they call me in the ancient legends of the Dalek Homeworld?” The Doctor started his spiel. ”The Oncoming Storm. You might've removed all your emotions but I reckon right down deep in your DNA, there's one little spark left, and that's fear. Doesn't it just burn when you face me? So tell me. How did you survive the Time War?”

Riley liked that; the Oncoming Storm. Ominous and poetic. It was perfect. Shame that it was the Daleks that came up with it though. But rather creative, for a bunch of killing drones. 

”They survived through me.” A voice echoed around them.

They all looked around confused. Where had that come from? It didn’t sound like a regular Dalek. Suddenly the lights ahead started shining, like a switch had been pulled, and a sight unlike any other made itself known.

”What. The. Hell?” Riley breathed.

”Everyone, this is the Emperor of the Daleks.” The Doctor introduced, as if this was a regular sight for him, like something he’d seen before. He didn’t seem at all surprised or stunned.

”Emperor, right.” Riley tried to wrap her head around this. ”He looks like an emperor.”

”You destroyed us, Doctor. The Dalek race died in your inferno, but my ship survived, falling through time, crippled but alive.” The gigantic royal continued.

”I get it.” The Doctor started saying but was cut off.

”Do not interrupt!” The Daleks around them burst out in echoing madness. ”Do not interrupt!”

The Doctor seemed taken back by this but soon shook it of and continued. ”I think you're forgetting something. I'm the Doctor, and if there's one thing I can do, it's talk. I've got five billion languages, and you haven't got one way of stopping me.” He indicated the forcefield. ”So if anybody's going to shut up, it's you! Okey dokey? So, where were we?”

”We waited here in the dark space, damaged but rebuilding.” The Emperor started again. ”Centuries passed, and we quietly infiltrated the systems of Earth, harvesting the waste of humanity. The prisoners, the refugees, the dispossessed. They all came to us. The bodies were filtered, pulped, sifted. The seed of the human race is perverted. Only one cell in a billion was fit to be nurtured.”

Ugh, really? If Riley was understanding this correctly, and she was kind of hopen that she was wrong, did that mean that they cannibalised the humans sent through the transmats to make new Daleks? She decided not to dwell on it. Too far off of her comfort zone. Way off.

”So you created an army of Daleks out of the dead.” The Doctor summed it up, Riley making her best effort not to think about it, and he seemed equally appalled.

”That makes them half-human.” Rose, also appalled, realised. 

”Those words are blasphemy!” The Emperor apparently did not like this comparison at all.

”Do not blaspheme!” The Daleks around them spoke out together again making it sound like something akin to that of a surround-system. ”Do not blaspheme!”

”Everything human has been purged. I cultivated pure and blessed Dalek.” Was it just Riley, or was the Emperor starting to sound like a religious leader rather than a royal? It sort sounded like a cult. A weird, scary, nasty and just plain wrong cult.

The Doctor, it seemed, was thinking in similar turns. He looked from one Dalek onto another, his facial expression betraying his uncertainty. He didn’t seem to know what to do with what he was seeing.

”Since when did the Daleks have a concept of blasphemy?” He sounded so confused.

”I reached into the dirt and made new life. I am the God of all Daleks!” The Emperor was on a roll.

”Worship him! Worship him! Worship him!” 

Okay, Riley was starting to get really scared. Daleks, sure, terrifying in their own might. But crazed ones like these? No, this was way scarier. She moved closer to Jack, trying to get away from the insane creatures, and he - noticing her movement - grabbed her hand in comfort. They looked at each other, saw the fear, and simply held on tighter.

”They're insane.” The Doctor sounded equally as scared as Riley fet. ”Hiding in silence for hundreds of years, that's enough to drive anyone mad. But it's worse than that. Driven mad by your own flesh. The stink of humanity. You hate your own existence. And that makes them more deadly than ever. We're going.”

He gestured them back toward the TARDIS but the Emperor started speaking again.

”You may not leave my presence!” 

The Daleks started zooming in on them again. ”Stay where you are!”

”Exterminate!”

They closed the door.

Even as the Doctor started steering the ship away from the Dalek fleet and back to the space station they could still hear the thousand Daleks shouting out for them. It was echoing in the console room. The look on the Doctor’s face, the haunted and hollow look, was enough to keep them quiet until they landed. 

But as soon as the TARDIS had materialised the Doctor snapped to it and rushed out to bark orders to the crew.

”Turn everything up. All transmitters full power, wide open. Now! Do it!” He shouted at them.

”Why?” Pavale asked even though he still did it. ”Why does that do?”

”Stops the Daleks from transmatting on board.” He answered before getting on another subject. ”How did you get on? Did you contact Earth?”

The three of them followed him out into the control room of the station. 

”Well, we tried to warn them, but all they did was suspend our license because we stopped the programmes.” Pavale sighed, frustrated.

”Seriously?” Riley would never cease to be amazed by the stupidity of her own people.

”And the planet's just sitting there, defenceless.” The Doctor huffed in annoyance before seeming to notice something. ”Lynda, what're you still doing on board? I told you to evacuate everyone.”

”She wouldn’t go.” Pavale shrugged in a what-do-you-want-me-to-do manner. 

”Didn’t want to leave you.” Lynda smiled at him, making Riley sigh quietly to herself. Just,no way. The Doctor wouldn’t have time to deal with a love-struck stranger in the middle of this, especially not now when he got Rose back.

Rose who, Riley noticed, was giving the new woman a rather angry side-glance. Apparently the blonde was a jealous person.

”There weren't enough shuttles anyway, or I wouldn't be here.” The woman who had protested when the Doctor first told them to evacuate told him. ”We've got about a hundred people stranded on Floor Zero.”

”What is this? The Titantic?” Riley huffed. Not enough shuttles. Idiotic!

Jack gave her a grin, even though she wasn’t sure if he even understood the reference, but before anyone could comment further; one of the monitors started beeping.

”Oh, my God. The Fleet is moving. They're on their way.” Pavale interpreted the readings with a sense of panic.

This stopped everyone. They all just froze in place, mulling over their impending doom. She should probably try and ring her aunt at least one more time before she died, yeah? She had conflicting emotions about that.

Then the Doctor started moving. He started to look over the consoles in the control room, mentally taking stock and forming strategies in silence. The others watched him, unable to really contribute at this point. He stopped at one console, sonic-ed the protective plating off it and started ripping out wires for closer inspection.

”What are you doing?” Rose walked up to him.

”Dalek plan. Big mistake, because what have they left me with? Anyone? Anyone?” He started, expecting them to actually know what the hell he was rambling about. No one sad a word. ”Oh, come on, it's obvious. A great big transmitter. This station. If I can change the signal, fold it back, sequence it, anyone?”

Next to her, Jack straightened up and grinned. ”You have got to be kidding me!”

Riley really wasn’t getting it. But she suspected that no one did, aside from those two.

”Give the man a medal!” The Doctor probably would have presented Jack with thumbs-up if his hands were free.

”A Delta wave!”

”A Delta wave!” The Doctor confirmed.

”…” Riley looked from one to the other. ”Nope, still not getting it.”

”What’s a Delta wave.” Rose asked.

”A wave of Van Cassadyne energy.” Jack explained. ”It fries your brain. Stand in the way of a Delta Wave and your head gets barbecued!”

”Sounds fun.” Sarcasm was real easy when you were in a life-or-death situation, Riley was learning.

”Oh, Riley, you have no idea. This place can transmit a massive wave. Wipe out the Daleks!” The Doctor told her enthusiastically. 

Rose smiled encouragingly and was about to say something but Lynda beat her to the punch.

”Well, get started and do it then!” She cheered.

Rose grimaced. Riley almost laughed; there was a fleet of Daleks rushing toward them to kill them all horribly and the blonde still found the energy to be competitive about her Doctor. But that’s what made her Rose, she supposed. The domestic approach. 

”Trouble is, wave this size, building this big, brain as clever as mine, should take about, oh, three days? How long till the Fleet arrive?” The Doctor spoke real quickly as he sorted through the cables.

Pavale turned around to read of the monitor. ”Twenty two minutes.”

”Oh, good lord.” Riley couldn’t help but to laugh. This is so typically the Doctor. She watched as the man of the hour got a hold of one particular cable and gave them his widest grin. It was probably meat to be encouraging. It made him look slightly manic. 

”Alright then.” Jack started ripping poen another panel. ”Lets get going.”

After some quick work which she understood about zero of she was told that the station now had the same force field around it as the TARDIS. She had basically ben standing to the side, giving Jack whatever he asked for as he worked. Rose doing the same for the Doctor.

”But the force field won’t stop them from physically invading.” Jack warned.

”Do they know about the Delta Wave?” Pavale wondered.

”They'll have worked it out at the same time. So, they want to stop the Doctor.” Jack answered before continuing. ”That means they've got to get to this level, five hundred. Now, I can concentrate the extrapolator around the top six levels, five hundred to four nine five. So they'll penetrate the station below that, at level four nine four and fight their way up.”

”Fight?” Riley asked. ”That doesn’t sound like fun.”

”Who exactly, are they fighting?” Pavale agreed.

”Us.” Jack told him with a grin. 

”Not fun at all.” Riley sighed.

”And what are we fighting with?”

”The guards had guns with bastic bullets. That's enough to blow a Dalek wide open.” Jack gestured to the guns.

”There are five of us.” A woman pointed out, which Riley disagreed with. There was six of them.

”Rose, you can help me. I need all these wires stripping bare.” The Doctor spoke up from his seat on the floor behind them. He wasn’t even looking at them, too focused on his job.

”Right.” The woman huffed. ”Now there’s four of us.”

”Actually, there’s still five, thank you very much.” Riley made herself known again. ”I am no use here but I could be of use elsewhere.”

”No chance.” The woman protested. ”You’re too young.”

”I’m thirteen.” She informed her. ”Five more years and I would have been eligible for your stupid games. Five years, not that much time, is it?”

”Birdie…” Jack started.

”No!” Riley wouldn’t hear it. ”I wouldn’t be a part of the fighting, I could hide and help the wounded, or something. Don’t ask me to sit here and do nothing.”

Jack looked at the Doctor, desperate for some sort of help, but the man was busy. He wasn’t even paying attention to them. 

”Besides, this is the floor they’re gunning for, isn’t it?” She pointed out. ”I won’t be any safer here.”

”That is a good point.” Pavale agreed, making Jack glare at him. ”I mean… maybe she should be with the others at floor zero. It’s bound to be safer there than here.”

”That I agree with.” The woman nodded. 

”Alright!” Jack huffed. He had to admit they were right. He knew there was no way they would be able to stop the Daleks, at most they could delay them. They would make their way up to floor five hundred and then Riley would be straight in the crosshairs. ”We’ll take you with us to floor zero, where you’ll stay. You got that?”

”Alright.” She agreed. At least this way she wouldn’t be in the way and she could help the people on floor zero keep calm. 

The others started making for the lifts but Lynda, Jack and Riley paused. Lynda thanked the Doctor for saving her. Riley walked up to Rose.

”I’m going to join the others at floor zero.” She told the blonde. ”Jack says it’ll be safer.”

”Good.” Rose hugged her tightly. ”You’re a bit too young to join in on the fighting.”

”You’re not exactly much older, you know.” She harrumphed.

”Stay safe.”

”You too.” Riley smiled. ”See you when it’s over.”

Jack came up to Rose so Riley went on to the Doctor.

”Getting away from the battleground I hear.” The Doctor said. ”Smart move.”

”It wasn’t mine.” She told him before startling him with a hug. ”You protect her, you hear me. And yourself, we mustn’t forget yourself, now must we?”

He smiled and looked down into her face. ”You stay away from the crowd.” He told her. ”Hide, even if it is floor zero. Just, stay out of sight.”

”Paranoid.” She giggled. ”Though with good reasons. I will.”

Jack came over. ”Wish I'd never met you, Doctor. I was much better off as a coward.”

And then kissed the Doctor. Riley laughed, mainly because of the look on Rose’s face. 

”See you in hell.” He shouldered his weapons and turned to Riley. ”Come on, birdie. Let’s see if we can recruit some fighters.”

They left.


	19. Pre-and-post Battle

The elevator ride down from floor five hundred to zero was surprisingly short. They met the others outside the doors and Jack gathered them up and started making for the center of the room. The room was full with people, all of whom were scared and uncertain of what was going on.

Jack stapled a bunch of crates together in the center and climbed up. People immediately shut up to hear him speak.

Riley didn’t really pay attention. She knew what was going on and she knew what was going to happen. Instead she focused on the room itself. It was rather large, like a foyer but the only entrance was by the elevator. She did however spot several ventilation shaft openings throughout the room. There was a reception-like area against one wall and some empty shelves against the other. All over the room there were chairs, all scattered and some even turned over, presumably because people had been using them. 

Suddenly there was a shot fired behind her and she abruptly turned around to see Jack holding his gun into the air.

”One last time! Any more volunteers? There's an army about to invade this station. I need every last citizen to mount a defence.” He was explaining yet again.

”Don’t listen to him!” One of the people in the crowd cried out. ”There aren't any Daleks. They disappeared thousands of years ago.”

Riley sighed in frustration. Sometimes she really felt like giving up on her own kind. They just weren’t worth it at times.

Then again… she watched as one more person volunteered to join the fight. 

”Thanks.”Jack offered a brief smile. ”As for the rest of you, the Daleks will enter the station at floor four nine four and as far as I can tell, they'll head up, not down. But that's not a promise. So here's a few words of advice. Keep quiet. And if you hear fighting up above, if you hear us dying, then tell me that the Daleks aren't real. Don't make a sound. Let's go!”

She took a steadying breath and marched toward him again. They met at the elevators.

”Be careful.” She told him, even though he was about to go off fighting Daleks and it probably was the last time she’d see him.

”You too.” He hugged her. Hard.

”Be selfish, if you can.” She whispered into his ear, making him laugh.

”Those were the days.”

They separated. She looked him over again, one last time. He bent down and took out a small knife from one of his boots.

”Here.” He handed it to her. ”It won’t do much use against a Dalek, but still. Better than nothing.”

She took it, trying not to cry. She wouldn’t cry. Not now. Not until it was over.

”Maybe one day you could teach me how to use it.” She smiled.

”Yeah, one day.” He smiled sadly before turning around and walking into the elevator where the others had been waiting.

She waved. He saluted. The lift doors closed.

She was alone.

===========================================================================

She sat in a corner, away from the stupid people around her. That guy that had been talking back to Jack, about Daleks not being real, had been getting on her nerves. She figured it was better to remove herself from the temptation of smacking him before she did something stupid. 

It had been ten minutes since Jack left. It felt more like an hour. 

She had her mobile in her hand. Her thumb kept ghosting over the call-button but she couldn’t quite get herself to press it. She thought about maybe just writing her aunt a text but that seemed so callous and un-personal. Besides, what would she even say? Things had gone rather downhill since they last spoke. But the thought of not calling her, if she did die then and there, was unbearable. 

Her thumb ghosted over the call-button again.

===========================================================================

_”The Delta Wave's started building. How long does it need?”_

_”Is that bad?” Punch, bang. ”Okay, it's bad. How bad is it?”_

_”Rose Tyler, you're a genius! We can do it. If I use the Tardis to cross my old timeline. Yes!”_

…

_”Doctor, what're you doing? Can I take my hand off? It's moving.”_

_”I’m sorry, Riley. So sorry.”_

_”Doctor! Let me out!”_

….

_”Rose, I've called up the internal laser codes. There should be a different number on every screen. Can you read them out to me?”_

_”She’s not here.”_

_”Of all the times to take a leak. When she gets back, tell her to read me the codes.”_

_”She’s not coming back.”_

…

_”The Delta wave. Is it ever going to get ready?”_

_”Tell him the truth, Doctor. There is every possibility the Delta Wave could be complete, but no possibility of refining it. The Delta Wave must kill every living thing in its path, with no distinction between human and Dalek. All things will die.”_

_”Doctor, the range of this transmitter covers the entire Earth.”_

…

_”Do you see, Jack? That's the decision I've got to make for every living thing. Die as a human or live as a Dalek. What would you do?”_

…

_”What about Riley?”_

_”I am so sorry, Jack.”_

…

_”Do it. Keep working. At least Rose is safe.”_

_”I am so sorry…”_

===========================================================================

Riley almost thought she could hear the fighting. She could have sworn she heard an explosion above her. Or maybe she was just imagining things.

No. No, she wasn’t. She was close to the elevator doors and she could swear she heard something from the shaft. Standing up she got closer to the doors, to listen, only to push herself backwards as quickly as possible.

Just in time too. There was a huge bang. One of the elevator doors buckled outward and she felt the floor shake at the impact.

”What the hell was that?” That annoying guy from earlier cried.

”The elevators.” One of the staff spoke up as they all looked at the doors. ”One must have fallen.”

”What do you mean, fallen?”

”It means the Daleks are here.” Riley breathed.

That got their attention. Then it got their panic. 

”Ohmygod! What are we going to do!”

”We’re going to die!”

”No.. but I won the game!”

All around her, the grown ups were panicking. They were crying, screaming and running desperately all over the place. Riley could only stand and watch as they acted like sheep running from a wolf. 

The Daleks were coming for floor zero, would be there any second, what was she going to do. There was no way…

Wait. Ventilation shaft.

She ran over to closest one she could find, having to push her way through the crowd stampeding all around. She looked it over. It was a basic shaft; it had a grate and screws. And it was big. Big enough to fit a small grown up. Probably for maintenance purposes.

She crouched down and took a closer look on the screws. It had been twenty seconds since the elevator had crashed. They would be here soon. 

The knife!

”Oh, thank you, Jack Harkness.” She groaned in happiness as she took it out. ”I freaking love you!”

She started working on the screws, there were eight of them. Would she make it? 

One down. The people were still panicking. Seriously, they only had a few more minutes to live, couldn’t they try and use their time more effectively? Two down. One lady tripped over her as she was running as far away from the elevator shaft as quickly as she could. Three down. She could hear the Daleks. ”Exterminate!” Four down. She had to make it. Five down. Her fingers were bleeding. She kept slipping on the knife. She didn’t care. Six down. Were the doors groaning? Were the Daleks trying to get in now? Well then they shouldn’t have crashed the elevator boxes, it made the doors all crooked. Although she sure appreciated the warning. Seven down. A Dalek fired on the door, trying to get it open. ”Exterminate!” Everyone was screaming. Eight. Finally.

They were in.

Riley ignored them. Maybe not a smart move, actually no, definitely not. But she knew if she turned around to look she would freeze. And she couldn’t afford to. Not now.

The grating came off.

She turned around. People were already dead. And several more were dying. But none of the Daleks seemed to have noticed her. Her eyes met that of a woman, across the room, who was cowering against the wall. It was only for half a second but Riley could read her clearly.

What are you waiting for, stupid girl? Go!

She crawled in. 

She didn’t look back again. 

===========================================================================

_”Floor Zero. They killed them all.”_

_…_

_”I am so sorry, Riley. So sorry.”_

===========================================================================

It was actually pretty roomy, as ventilation shafts go. Plenty of space to manoeuvre in, but maybe that was because she was thirteen years old and not a fully grown human. She took the first turn she came across, unwilling to stay in sight of the room she’d just left. She didn’t think that the Daleks would be able to see her, the shaft was too close to the floor and they couldn’t exactly bend down to look, but still. It was survival instinct. 

She didn’t really know where she was going. Didn’t exactly have a map. She figured that upwards was a good idea so the first chance she got she climbed up. It was slow-going and her bloody fingers weren’t making it better either. They were stinging and the shaft was dirty and damnit, if her wounds weren’t getting infected at this rate! It wasn’t exactly easy on her knees either, this whole crawling thing, and it was exhausting work. But she kept going. It’s not like she could stop. Thank God for adrenalin! 

She would climb up to a new floor. Crawl. Climb again. And so it went on. She had no idea what was going on outside the shaft; if anyone was even alive anymore. She did come across some noises at one point but they seemed to be echoing from somewhere and she couldn’t tell where. 

She counted the number of times she’d climbed upward, hoping it would be same number of floors she’d worked off, and she was at seventy-four. This would take forever.

===========================================================================

_”Exterminate!”_

_”I kind of figured that.”_

_…_

_”It’s ready!”_

===========================================================================

At floor two hundred and ten, she hoped, she felt it. 

She didn’t even know what it was but there was definitely something. A force of some kind. It felt like pressure in her head, like you know there’s a storm coming because you get a headache and the air feel heavy. And it really felt like a storm.

She only paused briefly before continuing. It didn’t matter what it was, she had to keep going.

She had to. What else was there for her to do? 

===========================================================================

_”I looked into the TARDIS and the TARDIS looked into me.”_

===========================================================================

She felt the wave. If it was a wave. It felt like one. 

It swept over her, seeming to pause slightly, before moving on. She didn’t know what it was but she hoped it had something to do with the Delta wave. 

Rose! Rose would know. Why hadn’t she thought about that before? She still had her phone and as far as she knew, Rose still had hers as well. They should be able to phone each other. Reaching into her back pocket she tried to fish it out, somewhat difficult seeing as she was lying down inside a shaft with limited elbow room. But eventually she got it out and placed in front of her face only to stare at it in surprise.

It was cracked. The screen was cracked. And the phone was dead. She tried turning it back on but nothing happened. No matter how many buttons she pressed it was all the same. What happened to it? She couldn’t remember falling down or dropping it. So how had it cracked? Maybe… maybe that wave-thingy had something to do with it? 

Not that it mattered. What was she supposed to now?

Deciding to risk it she crawled for the nearest exit. 

She saw nothing.

She kicked the grate out, decidedly easier than taking on the screws one at a time and much quicker, and waited with baited breath to see what would happen. Nothing. There apparently was no one on that floor.

She crawled out, with some difficulty, and took in the corridor she’d ended up in. A nearby sign informed her that this was floor two hundred and forty one. 

”Okay. Now what?”

Was she going to take the chance that it was the Delta wave and that all the Daleks were gone? There should still be an elevator working, at least only one had fallen so presumably the other should still be usable. Could she risk it? If the Daleks weren’t dead they would hear her coming. But then again, if they were, she could much quicker get to where she wanted to go.

Maybe she should go halfway? Not all the way up to five hundred. Jack had said that they would enter at floor four nine four so maybe just below that? And then crawl through the ventilation shafts the rest of the way up? That way would be safer, right?

It was terrifying, waiting for the second elevator to arrive. She half-expected it to be full of Daleks. It wasn’t. 

She pressed for four hundred ninety three. When the elevator came to a stop she pressed herself to the side of it, as if that would protect her if there were any Daleks around.

She made quick work of the next ventilation shaft opening, crawling into it in under a few seconds. She had developed a routine when crawling and climbing up two hundred and forty one floors (holy! it only just now occurred to her how much work that was) and she slipped back into it easily. 

Soon enough she was back at floor five hundred.

Finding the nearest exit, which proved to be right behind where the lady who had given them the coordinates had been strapped up with wiring, she glanced around. No Daleks. 

Also, no TARDIS.

But there is a Jack!

”Jack!” She shouted to him, making him startle and spin around trying to pinpoint where it was coming from. She manoeuvred around in the shaft and started to kick out the grate plating.

One final kick and it was out. Two seconds later and so is she.

”Riley!” He sounds all too relieved and happy and surprised at once.

He runs up to her and envelops her in the best hug she’s ever been in.

”You survived!” She laughed. He paused.

”Yeah…” He looked at her. ”How did you…? The Daleks, they hit floor zero first. I thought…”

”Ventilation shaft.” She gestured behind her. ”That knife came in real handy.”

She showed him her bloody fingers. ”It helped me unscrew the grating so that I could climb in and away from them.”

He laughed. Hard. She’s pretty sure she spotted a tear rolling down his cheek too, but didn’t say anything. He hugged her again. She wasn’t complaining.

They took a few seconds to compose themselves before really getting to the main problem. 

”Where is the TARDIS?” Riley asked, she figured that since he was there before her he’d know.

”I just saw it leave.” He shrugged before thinking about it. ”I think he thought we were dead.”

”Really?” She was having some issues comprehending this. ”He thought we were dead and so he simply left us here?”

Jack nodded, seemingly only just now understanding what it meant.

”Oh, my god.” She laughed. ”We’re left behind. Like actually left behind.”

”Your phone!” Jack suddenly startled her. ”Can’t you just phone him?”

”I wish.” She sighed. ”But it’s broken. Non-functional.”

”Oh, well.” He sighed resignedly.

”What now?”

”I don’t know.” Jack looked around. ”The Daleks are all gone, somehow, and we’re stuck here.”

The station started to shake.

”What is that?” Riley looked at the shaking monitors in surprise. ”What is happening?”

Jack pulled her with him as he went to the nearest monitor and started typing. The computer showed several pictures and graphs that she had no clue what they meant but Jack simply kept on typing. Until he stopped.

”Shit!” He swore loudly.

”What? What is it?” The shaking was getting worse. Off to her right sparks were flowing.

”The Daleks, before they were destroyed, did something to the reactor.” He explained as he continued reading of the screen. ”The Delta Wave, it’s still coming.”

”What do you mean, still?” Riley asked. ”Didn’t the Doctor already use it to destroy the Daleks?”

”No.” He told her and started to type something into a different monitor. ”I don’t know what that was but it wasn’t the Delta Wave. The Doctor built the wave but never activated it. But the Daleks, when they invaded, they must have done something. Blown up something that wasn’t meant to be blown up. Dammit!”

He kicked the monitor in anger. ”It’s not taking my commands!”

”What is it, Jack. Just tell me, in simple terms, what is going to happen? What is wrong?” She put a hand on his shoulder to get him to calm down.

”The reactor, the… the generator that runs this place, it’s unstable. Something must have happened, a wire got cut or a cooling system got blown to pieces, I don’t know! But it’s making it unstable and coupled with the still building Delta wave makes for a very large boom. The whole planet will boil.” He looked her right in the eyes.

”Can we stop it?” She took a calming breath.

”Yes.” He nodded. ”But the reactor will still blow.”

”Meaning…?”

”The planet will live…” He closed his eyes.

”But we won’t.” She concluded.

Unable to say anything he simply nodded.

”Okay.” She said.

He looked at her, startled. ”Okay?”

”Yes.”

”Just like that? Okay?”

”Yes!” She took a hold of him by the shoulders and gave him her most sincere look she could manage. ”I thought I was a goner at least three separate times in the last five hours, Jack Harkness, and that didn’t stop me. Even if we die here and now, even if we just survived a Dalek invasion just to die in this, it still doesn’t matter. If we can save the planet, my home planet, then it doesn’t matter!”

He stared at her in surprise for a few heartbeats before breaking out into the widest smile she’d ever seen him give. 

”You are amazing, you know that?”

”One among many, I assure you. And most of those were born on that tiny little planet down there. And this way, many more will be.” She nodded, as if agreeing with herself.

”Then what are we waiting for?”

Riley had no idea exactly what Jack was doing but she gladly did whatever he asked of her. Apparently he was taking apart the Delta wave that the Doctor had tried so desperately to get done in time, and the irony there was not lost on either of them. 

He’d told her that they had approximately forty minutes before the unstable reactor reached core-capacity and blew up. Forty minutes left to live. Thirty-nine minutes left to save the Earth. 

What a day this has been! And still, it’s not over. 

”Okay.” Jack breathed heavily. ”This should be it.”

He held up one final little wire. It was thin, really thin, and purple. 

”That’s it?” She asked. 

”Yep.” He popped the p. ”Cut this and the Delta wave is gone.”

”And if you’re wrong?”

”Chain-reaction.” He laughed nervously. ”Killing us all. The planet too.”

She smiled. ”Let’s hope you’re not wrong then.”

She took out the knife he’d give her, just an hour ago (felt more like a month, really), and placed it in the hoop he’d created with the wire. One snip. That was all it would take.

”How long?” She wondered.

He looked at the nearest monitor. ”Seven minutes.”

She cut the wire.

They both stopped breathing. Riley had her eyes closed, just waiting. Nothing happened.

”Six minutes.” Jack started laughing again. ”We did it!”

They embraced happily. They both knew that they were going to die in about five minutes but that didn’t matter. This minute, right here, they were happy. They’d just saved the Earth. 

”Four minutes.”

They were sitting down on the platform where the controller had been hoisted up. There wasn’t really much to do, other than to wait. 

”Do you regret it?” Riley asked him. ”Traveling with the Doctor, I mean.”

”No.” He didn’t even hesitate. ”What about you?”

”Not really.” She mused. ”I regret what it came to, how it ended. But not the actual traveling. Even knowing how it ends, I’d still make the same choice.”

”Me too.” They shared a look. ”I guess that’s just what he’s like, isn’t he?”

”Yeah.”

”Idiot!” Jack suddenly burst out.

”The Doctor?” She asked, confused.

”No!” He hopped off the platform. ”Me!”

”What?”

He grinned at her. ”How do you feel about surviving?”

”That I’d love to.” She answered bemused. ”But how?”

He held up his arm and pointed at his watch.

”Your watch?” She hopped off to stand aside him.

”It’s not a watch.” He started to fiddle with it. ”If I could just…”

The station rumbled around them. Cracks were starting to show on the wall. Light fixtures were blowing up all around them. The station gave a huge shake, making them both stumble.

”Well, whatever it is, do it fast.” She urged him as a monitor exploded. She looked at the countdown; thirty seconds. ”Cutting it a bit close!”

”Got it!”

”What?” She couldn’t even hear him, the rumbling and shaking and exploding was muffling everything else out. 

He grabbed her arm and placed her hand on his not-watch. ”Hold on!”

”What!”

The world started to bend around them and a crackling noise filled her ears. The not-watch was tingling under her fingers. Strangle lights started to dance in her peripheral vision.

The floor gave way under them.

She lost her grip.

”Riley!”


	20. Interlude - The After and the Before

Riley had no idea what was going on only that she didn’t much like it. 

She had fallen. Jack had told her to hold on and she had lost her grip. The floor had given way underneath her and she fell. Except she hadn’t fallen to the floor underneath. She didn’t know where she was but she was pretty damn sure it wasn’t the space station. 

It kind of looked like a tunnel. Made completely out of light. And it was making her head hurt. In fact, it hurt so much that she had to close her eyes and hold her hands over her ears. It still made her scream.

She couldn’t remember what happened next. She must have passed out. 

But she could remember waking up.

She was lying down, somewhere outside because the sun was shining. Since when was there sun? She couldn’t see too clearly, her eyes watery from tears she couldn’t remember shedding, and the too bright light making everything blurry. Her ears were ringing and she was pretty sure she had a nosebleed. Her entire body felt sore, stretched kind of. 

Was it just her, or was the ground orange? Where was she?

Spotting movement just to her left she tried to sit up but her stomach made itself known making her nauseous. God, she was thirsty! 

She tried to speak, there definitely was someone or something to her left. Whatever it was, it was getting nearer. Her headache and the nausea made her woozy. Everything was spinning.

She passed out.

=============================================================================

The second time she woke up it was too much better circumstances. She was no longer outside, so the sun wasn’t bothering her, and she was pretty sure she was lying in a bed. 

Her vision was no longer blurry either. It took some time for her eyes to adjust to the less than bright room she found herself in. It was a simply room, built out of wood, with little furniture and no appliances whatsoever. In fact, it only held a bed, a table and two chairs. Turning to the side she spotted a chest drawer with a basin on top. But that was it. The window didn’t even have curtains on it. But it was open.

She sat up as slowly as she was able, not eager to see the return of the nausea, and tried to focus on her hearing. The noises that drifted in through the open window were confusing; she could hear horses and maybe some people, but that was it. Nothing more. 

And then the door opened, making her startle. 

”Ah, you’re up.” The man seemed glad at this. And what a strange man it was. He was humanoid, dressed in old-time clothing, almost like during the wild west movie Jared had forced her to sit through on movie-nights when she was younger. And he was tattooed. ”Good.”

Had it not been for the tattoos on his face she would have thought he was human, but the tattoo and the clothing certainly didn’t match, time-wise. So, given her (somewhat limited) experience, she decided to not make any judgement yet. At least not until she knew exactly what was going on and where she was.

”How do you feel?” He stopped by her bedside, no too close but still close enough so that he didn’t have to raise his voice.

”Where am I?” God, her throat was raspy. But she was able to speak so that was a plus.

”You are in a town called Mercy, my dear.” He smiled gently. ”My name is Kahler-Jex and I am the resident doctor.”

”Where?” She asked again, because really, that had told her nothing. ”Country?”

”Country?” He seemed surprised at the question. In fairness, it was a weird question but one she desperately needed. ”How could you not know what country you are in?”

”Concussion?” She tried.

”Well, you do suffer from one.” He admitted suspiciously. ”Though I don’t think that’s why.”

He looked her over before sighing. ”You are in America, Nevada.”

”America?” She asked confused. How had she gotten to America? Wasn’t she just in a space station trying to survive? ”What year is it?”

Another peculiar question, she was aware, but the doctor answered anyway. ”1869, my dear.”

”Eighteen…!” She gasped. Okay, something was wrong. She had been in the control room in the station, with Jack. They were dying, the station was about to explode. And Jack… Jack… his watch? That wasn’t a watch? What the hell was it then? And how had she ended up in 1869 in America? Was it because she’d lost her grip? That tunnel… the one she fell through… how did Sexy travel through time, again? The ship had explained it to her once, it was complex and difficult, but there had been something about a tunnel, hadn’t it? 

Time vortex! Sexy traveled through time in the time vortex! Was that what that tunnel had been? The vortex? Whatever it was, it had slung her across time and space and somehow dumped her in America. In 1869.

”I take it, from you reaction, you’re not from around these parts. Are you?” The doctor spoke softly.

She looked him over again. ”Neither are you.”

No, he definitely wasn’t. With a name and tattoo like that he stuck out like an eyesore in 1869. What was it again? Kahler-something?

”I confess, I am not.” He nodded. ”But no matter, there will be time for that later. For now I need you to answer some questions.”

”Okay.” She agreed warily but she needn’t have worried. The doctor (an alien doctor, fancy that) kept it strictly professional and focused only on her health. Did she have a headache? Was she sore? Where? Could she move her fingers? How widely could she open her mouth before it started to hurt? Could she roll her left arm? And so on.

Aside from the concussion she also had a few bruised ribs, a dislocated shoulder, her wounds on her fingers from crawling around in the vents earlier (was it only a day ago?) had gotten infected, she had a split lip and was covered head to toe in bruises. He’d been worried that one of her eardrums had burst, because apparently she had been bleeding rather profusely earlier, but no worries. She’d also been bleeding from her nose but it had stopped now so that was alright. What he was most worried about was the concussion.

”I worried you wouldn’t wake.” He told her. ”But you seem to be healing nicely. Mostly, I think, because you are so young. The young are always better healers, especially when it comes to physical injuries.”

”Whatever you say.”

”How are you feeling? Tired?” He looked into her eyes to see her pupil dilation.

”A bit.” She admitted. ”But not enough to go back asleep.”

”Very well.” He sat back. ”I suppose now is as good a time as any to start with the serious questions.”

”Me first.” She was quick to say. ”Who are you? And how are you here?”

”Alright.” He didn’t object. ”My name is Kahler-Jex, of the Kahler.”

”Naturally.” She raised her eyebrows questioningly.

”My ship crashed here some years ago. The townsfolk took me in and nursed me back to health. I decided to stay.” He finished. ”Now for you?”

”My name is Riley, human.” She started, somewhat unwilling to give more.

”Human, but not from here.” Kahler-Jex summarised. ”Time-traveler?”

”Of a sort.” She begrudgingly admitted. ”Bit of an accident, coming here. I’m not actually sure how it happened, but now I’m here and I don’t know if I can go back. In fact, I doubt it.”

”How so?” He tilted his head.

”It wasn’t my device that was doing the time-traveling and I don’t have one of my own…” she trailed of.

Was she really stuck? 

Really? Truly? Stuck? She had no way back home. No way to communicate with the Doctor? She had no idea what happened to Jack, if he was still alive or not. And he wouldn’t know what happened to her, either. She lost her grip on his not-watch. He probably thought she was dead. That’s three times in two day! First when she was in the white room, second when Daleks attacked floor zero and now again. The Doctor thought she was dead too. No one was coming for her. 

She was never going home. 

Her tears could be excused and Kahler-Jex simply held her as she cried herself to sleep.


	21. The gunslinger who shoot hats

Life in Mercy wasn’t easy. 

It had taken her two weeks to get out of bed, mostly because Jex didn’t want her to take any risks. The alien doctor had taken quite the shine to her, seeming to have taken her under his wing. Probably because they were both not from around there. 

The rest of the town took to her easily. As long as their favourite doctor liked her it was all well for them. They didn’t know where she came from, that she was from the future, simply that she was a lost soul that Jex had taken on. Apparently he did that. 

It had been the marshall that found her out in the desert, a good man named Isaac. He’d been to a town a few miles out and was on his way back when he found her all bloody and unconscious off the road. He’d picked her up and placed her on his horse and had taken her all the way home to his town. She owed him her life.

When asked about her past she simply told them that she had no home. Because she didn’t, not anymore. When they asked about her family she simply said they were lost to her and they assumed she meant ”dead”, she never corrected them.

She didn’t even tell Jex where she was from, not really. He never found out how she’d gotten there, where she’d come from or anything specific about her past. He assumed because it was painful to talk about so in the end he stopped asking. Truthfully, she didn’t trust him.

There was just something about the way he behaved. When he talked about atoning for past sins he got a darkness in his eyes. When he said he was repaying the town he made it sound like it was for more than simply saving his life. He made it sound like it was his second chance or something, which would have been fine, if not for the fact that it made her wonder about his first chance. Maybe a tad bit hypocritical considering, but she couldn’t help it. Something was just off about him. Maybe it was the way he was always aware, always knew exactly what was going on and the way his eyes always kept a clear view of the exit. The way his eyes wouldn’t meet hers when she asked about his life before Mercy, like there was something he was hiding. He was just shifty, somehow. 

So, no, she didn’t trust him. She was grateful though. And it was difficult not to like him for being so helpful in spite of her strange situation. She just made sure to remind herself of her good instincts and how she’d never been wrong so far. 

He offered her a position as his assistant. She accepted. In return he gave her food and shelter, that same room she had woken up in that first day, and a small allowance that she made sure to save up for future uses. 

Whenever she wasn’t helping the good doctor she was holed up in the marshall’s office. It was a small town and there wasn’t much in the way of crimes so the resident marshall Isaac never had much to do. She made it her mission to make sure he never got bored, seeing as she owed him her life and all. That it helped stave of her own boredom certainly didn’t hurt. The marshall in question was utterly annoyed at first but soon learned that she was a stubborn person.

They met up at least once a day. He was teaching her chess. 

She still cried herself to sleep some nights. It was unavoidable, but those nights were getting fewer. If Isaac heard her, which she was sure he did, he never once commented.

Life in Mercy wasn’t easy. But it was life. And she didn’t have much in the way of alternatives. She was stranded in a time-period she knew very little about and her young age certainly didn’t help matters. Maybe when she got older she could move on to some other town, preferably a city, but until then… life in the slow-lane. 

Until the gunslinger came.

=========================================================================

She had been living in Mercy for nearly four months when she woke up one morning only to find the whole town circled in by some strange sort of border. It was stones and branches and it went around the whole town in a circle.

Completely non-plussed by this, Isaac at first thought it was someone messing around. Then Jenkins tried to step over the ”border”.

He was the first one they had to patch up. 

They were trapped. No way out. And they knew why.

”Why does he want you, Jex? It’s a simple question!” She asked for the fourth time. ”What part are you having issues with?”

”Alright, lets calm down here.” Isaac stepped in between.

They were in the marshall’s office, the three of them and a handful of other towner’s. They had bandaged Jenkins just an hour ago and still they didn’t know why the self-proclaimed gunslinger wanted their doctor. Isaac had managed to calm everyone down and have them return to their homes but it was only a matter of time. 

”No! I will not calm down!” She shrugged his hand off. ”We’re trapped here, Jenkins lost his leg, and we have no idea why. What is going on, Jex?”

”It’s complicated.” Was all he would say, again. 

She almost punched him. Of course it was complicated! If it wasn’t, the gunslinger wouldn’t be keeping them prisoners in their own town. She didn’t need all the details; just the who and the why. That’s all. But he wouldn’t meet her eyes. He wouldn’t anyones eyes. Not even Isaac’s.

”It doesn’t matter why he want him.” Isaac said, making her eyes go wide. ”He’s not going to get him.”

”The hell it doesn’t matter!” She shouted at him. ”Doesn’t Jenkins deserve to know why he’s going to be one-legged from now on? Don’t we?”

”Enough!” Isaac exclaimed. ”This isn’t a posse.”

”I’m not making it one.” She defended. ”But we still need to know.”

”Riley, I swear to the Lord Almighty…” he left it open for debate but she knew what he meant. This was the year 1870, turned just last week, they weren’t opposed to beating their women for disciplinary measures. Isaac wasn’t a great believer in such things but he would slap her if she didn’t shut up, she’d seen it before. 

So she kept her mouth shut and let her eyes do the talking. 

Jex wouldn’t look at her, still. 

She knew she had a bad feeling about him. She just didn’t expect to be proven right so quickly. 

=========================================================================

She was really starting to hate living in Mercy. It was even worse now when she couldn’t leave out of threat of her life. At least before she’d had the option, now she didn’t even have that. 

She’d moved out of Jex’s place. Not that it mattered, he’d taken up permanent residence in the town jail. Apparently he didn’t hold faith that the townspeople wouldn’t sacrifice him one day - he wouldn’t be wrong, it was just a matter of time, she reckoned. Riley had moved in with Mary Yaeger, the preacher’s daughter. Together they shared a room in the small church’s annex. 

It had been three weeks already and people were beginning to get desperate. The food was running out. 

She still didn’t know exactly what the gunslinger wanted Jex for. What he’d done to deserve such drastic treatment. Everyday she asked, everyday Isaac told her to shut it. Everyday Jex would refuse to meet her eyes. 

She would spend her days by the border. Looking out at the wilderness, trying to see if she could get the gunslingers attention. He only came when she stepped over the border but he would never answer any questions, just aim that impressive hand-cannon at her until she stepped back in. If she took a step in the wrong direction he would give a warning shot. And as soon as she was back behind the border again he disappeared. It didn’t look like either the hunter or the hunted wanted to share. 

Again, as the sun went up, she headed for the border. It’s not like she had a lot else to do. She re-bandaged Jenkins a few times and helped to treat a child’s cough but otherwise there wasn’t much use for her. 

She sat down by the town sign and waited. For what, she didn’t know, she simply waited. Maybe today would be different. Maybe today he would show himself without a border-crossing needed. Maybe. 

Over her three week vigil she had learned plenty of methods of distracting herself from the boredom; she would sing, she would count the number of branches required into making the border, she would go through the multiplication table forwards and backwards… whatever that made the wait a bit more bearable. Last week she’d even brought the Bible, curtesy of Mary, because it was the only thing the small town had to read. She finished it within the week. 

The first few days she’d gotten company, the townsfolk curious but cautious, but after the first four days or so she was on her own. So was the case again this day.

It was nearing midday when something strange happened. Something that never happened before. Something amazing. 

She heard the TARDIS.

For the first time in months, she heard it. At first she thought she was imagining it, the winds could get pretty strong out there, but as she witnessed the all too familiar blue box materialise itself just a few hills over outside the border, she knew she wasn’t daydreaming. She had no idea how it happened but Sexy had found her. 

Grinning she got up and dusted her dress off in expectation. 

The man who exited was no one she’d ever seen before. She watched as the stranger and two others exited the time-machine and walked toward the town. She didn’t recognise either of them, even from this far out she could tell that it wasn’t anyone she knew.

As soon as they were within talking distance, she spoke.

”Who are you?”

The man, who exited first and was wearing a tweed jacket of all things, looked at her in surprise.

”Sorry?” Was he wearing a bowtie? Yes, he was. And suspenders. 

”Who are you?” She asked again, briefly taking notice of the two other people, a red-headed woman with long legs and a gangly man at her side with a somewhat disproportionately large nose. 

”I’m the Doctor.” He introduced proudly. ”And who are you?”

”No you’re not.” She told him assuredly. 

”Excuse me?” He seemed confounded.

”I’ve met the Doctor, I’ve been in his ship, the TARDIS right there, and you’re not him.” She informed him. What was going on? Wait a minute… hadn’t Sexy told her that…? ”Unless…”

”Unless what?” He took a few steps closer to her face as if to inspect her.

”How old are you?” She asked instead. 

”Bit personal.” He commented but didn’t get any further because the red-head behind him interrupted.

”Riley?”

”What?” She looked her over. Who was this? A new companion? What happened to Rose?

”No.” The man exclaimed in disbelief. ”No way.”

He took even more steps closer so that the only thing now separating them was the border, which he didn’t seem to have noticed. 

”Riley?” He asked, their faces so close that had she been taller their noses would have touched.

”How old are you?” She asked again.

”Roughly One thousand and two hundred.” He stared deeply into her eyes before running his eyes up and down her body, as if searching for some kind of indicator that this truly was her.

”Last time…” She had to clear her throat a little. ”Last time, you were nine hundred.”

”Holy…” The red-head spoke again, slapping the other guy in the arm as if to say -would-you-look-at-that. ”Wait, how old are you?”

”Yeah, last time we saw you, you were definitely older.” The guy stated.

”I’m fourteen.” She told them, having counted the months as if they were still passing like at home. 

”Whoosh.” The Doctor, because it was definitely him, exhaled nervously. Damn, Sexy had said that he could change his face but he had said in such a way that it sounded a bit like a joke. She had only briefly mentioned it in passing and Riley honestly hadn’t thought too much of it. Well, that’s her proven wrong. 

”How…?” The red-head started but it was the guy that took over.

”Does that mean there’s another Doctor running around in there somewhere?” He gestured to the town.

”No.” She said. ”But the town could really use him.”

She looked them over and went through the facts.

”You two” she gestured to the two companions ”you know me, I don’t know you, so you’re from my future. Given that the Doctor is at least three hundred years older than the last time I saw him I assume that means I’m still with him, or was, until somewhat recently?”

”Don’t answer that.” The Doctor held up a hand. ”Spoilers.”

”They don’t have to answer, Doctor, it’s rhetorical.” She made a face at him. ”Then that means I’m going to get back home, I’m not stuck.”

She grinned in relief.

”What do you mean stuck?” The red-head asked.

”When are you?” The Doctor interjected with his ’thinking’-face on. Even with a different face she could still spot it. ”In our time-stream? When was the last time you saw me, exactly?”

”Wouldn’t that also technically be spoilers?” She smiled at him.

”It’s already happened for me.” He pointed out impatiently.

”But if it’s already happened then shouldn’t you know?” She teased but answered anyway. ”We were just on that space station, the one with the deadly tv-shows, and there were Daleks. You left me there.”

”Right.” He nodded his head, as if she’d just confirmed his suspicions. ”I just want to state that I, at the time, thought you were already dead.”

”I figured.” She glared at him. ”But I wasn’t, so thanks for sticking around. Not”

”Wow, even as a teenager she still manages to pull the sarcasm off flawlessly.” The guy observed. ”And the Doctor is still as vulnerable to it as always.”

”Awesome.” The red-head giggled. 

”Does this mean I can count on a ride home?” She asked, pointedly ignoring the two. 

”Yes!” The Doctor was quick to reassure. ”Of course. I think I’m supposed to, seeing as you still have a future to get to. Mainly with me.”

”Brilliant, but first you have to help me.” She gestured to the town behind her. ”I could really use some Doctor help right now.”

”Why? What happened?” The Doctor quickly stepped into his usual problem-solving role. 

”And does it have anything to do with this?” The red-head gestured to the border.

”Absolutely.” She nodded. ”But before that, I don’t actually know who you are.”

”Right.” The Doctor clapped his hands together. ”Riley, this is Amy and Rory. No more introduction is necessary. Spoilers!”

She gave him a weird look but decided to just let it be, he usually knew what he was talking about. Besides, where was the fun of already knowing the future and what was to come ahead of schedule?

”Fine.” She laughed. ”And this is the border.”

”Made out of sticks and stones.” The guy, Rory, pointed out as if to say not-a-very-good-border-is-it.

”It’s not a border as such.” She hedged. ”It’s not built to keep people out. It’s there to keep us in.”

”Us? In?” The Doctor stepped over the border with ease. ”How long have you been here?”

”Almost five months, but the border only came some three weeks ago.” She explained as the other also crossed over. She made sure to look out for the gunslinger but he made no appearance, probably because no one was trying to get out. ”We woke up one morning and there it was.”

”Who built it?” Amy asked as they started to make their way down the main-road and into town.

”He calls himself the gunslinger. And he’s here to kill someone.” That sure got their attention. ”He says that as long as the town protects that someone, the border will stay up. If you try and cross it, he will shoot you. Jenkins lost a leg the first day and young Derrick almost lost his head last week.”

”That doesn’t sound very good.” The Doctor tutted at the violence and Riley couldn’t help but to stare at him. He seemed… younger, somehow. And not just because his new face was younger, but because he didn’t seem as haunted anymore. Maybe he was finally getting over the Time War. ”But persistent. It sounds persistent.”

”Human?” Amy questioned.

”No, and neither is the man he’s after.” She told them but she didn’t get much further. They were now in the middle of the town and the Doctor had noticed the oddities, as she knew he would.

”Electric lightening.” He hummed. 

”The street lamp?” Rory wondered. ”It’s just a lamp.”

”About ten years too early.” The Doctor tutted at him.

”That’s only a few years off.” Rory tried to skirt over it.

”That's what you said when you left your phone charger in Henry the Eighth's en-suite.” He jutted his finger at the younger man before stopping to observe the rest of the town.

”You left your charger in Henry the Eight’s en-suite?” Riley couldn’t help but laugh.

”You laughed the first time, too.” He remarked. ”This is so strange, seeing you like this.”

”Why? Because I’m younger?”

”Yeah.” He nodded. It was indeed very weird.

”Sorry.” She shrugged.

”No, don’t be.” He dissuaded her. ”It’s not bad, just… weird.”

She was about to respond but got distracted when she saw the Doctor enter the town bar along with Amy. ”Oh, God no.”

She just knew he was going to mess things up somehow. He may have changed his face but in the end he was still the Doctor and the Doctor worked as a magnet for trouble. That was just how it was. Riley and Rory were quick to follow but it was too late.

She entered just in time to hear him introduce himself as ”the Doctor”.

”Bollocks!” She sighed in frustration. She could already picture how this was going to end. 

The patrons all stood up abruptly and she tried to make her way to him but Wilkins, the horse-shoer grabbed a hold of her to stop her. She cursed him silently and tried to get Rory’s attention but the man had already moved next to Amy.

She watched, resigned, how Abraham measured the Doctor for his coffin.

”Oh, don’t be…!” She tried to speak up but Wilkins jostled her to get her to keep quiet. Of course they wanted her to keep quiet, they thought they had found a solution to their problem. They didn’t want her to ruin it. 

”I got a question. Is you an alien?” One of the boys asked.

”Don…!” Wilkins placed his filthy hand over mouth, eager to hear the answer. God, she hated people sometimes. Bloody sheep!

Please, please, be smart. Riley begged in her head. Please do the smart thing and lie.

Of course he didn’t. Trouble-magnet!

”Well, er, bit personal. It's all relative, isn't it? I mean, I think you're the aliens, but in this context, yes. Yes, I suppose I am.” He smiled, as if they were asking just to be friendly. Oh, why hadn’t he stuck around and heard her explain the situation first? 

They lifted him up and carried him out. Riley knows where they are going and knows she has to stop it. She stomps Wilkins on his foot, making him let her go, and follows the crowd. She notices that Amy and Rory too have been swept along but don’t try to call out to them or anything, too focused on getting to the front. 

They throw him over the border. Actually threw him over. They couldn’t just politely push him over?

”Wait!” She shout to try and get their attention. They pay no heed. When the Doctor turns around to face them they take out their revolvers and point them at him. ”Wait!”

The gunslinger appears in the distance.

”Wait!” She elbows her way to the front and situates herself between the Doctor and the guns.

”Riley, girl, get out of the way.” One of them growls at her.

”No chance.” She steps closer to the mouth of his weapon. ”Let him back in.”

”No.” One of the men in the back shouts. ”You heard him. He’s an alien doctor.”

”Yes, I heard him!” She shouts back. ”And he’s here because I asked him to be!”

That got their attention. Behind her the Doctor has seen the gunslinger and is trying to get over the border again only to have his face shoved with more guns.

”He’s my friend! And if you all don’t let him back in I will push you over the border myself!” She threatens, making the men standing closest to her back away. They may be stronger than her but one misstep would be all it took. 

”Preacher.” One of the men speaks up, ignoring her. ”Say something.”

Mary’s father starts to pray for the Doctor’s soul, making her even more angry. She was really starting to hate this town. She was about to implement drastic measures but, thank the heavens, Isaac had arrived on the scene.

He fired a hot into the air, getting all their attention.

”You, bowtie.” He pointed at the Doctor. ”Get back over that line.”

The Doctor wasted no time and did exactly that. The gunslinger disappeared behind them.

”Isaac, he said he was a doctor. An alien doctor.” One of the townsfolk defended, as if trying make him see reason.

”That a reason to hand him to his death?” Isaac holstered his weapon.

”Isaac, it could be him.”

”Oh, shut up, you imbecile!” Riley huffed. ”You know damn well he isn’t.”

”Riley.” Isaac gave her warning look to which she glared at him. ”Alright, you lot, get back to your homes, now.”

They started dispersing, leaving Riley and the three time-travellers behind. The others turned to look at her questioningly. 

”You know,” she glared at the Doctor. ”if you’d just stopped and listened to my explanation, this wouldn’t have happened.”

He smiled sheepishly.

”Come on.” She sighed. ”I’ll take you to the doctor.”

”The one that him out there wants?” Rory gestured were the gunslinger was just a few seconds ago.

”Yep.” She nodded. ”He’s taken refuge in the marshall’s office.”

”So, who is he? Why does that cyborg-thing want him dead?” Amy asked as they started walking.

”I don’t know why. He won’t tell me.” She grumbled. ”And when I persisted, Isaac ordered me to stop. He said that it doesn’t matter since we’re not going to give him up. Which I agree to, but I’d still like to know why it’s happening.”

”What do you think of him?” The Doctor glanced over at her. He’d always trusted her judgement, mainly because she’d almost always be right, even back when she was this young. 

She hesitated before answering. ”He saved my life.”

”What?” Amy looked at her, startled. ”Why did it need saving in the first place?”

”Long story.” She avoided the question. ”But he did save me. Him and Isaac.”

”Yes, but what do you think of him?” The Doctor asked again, noticing that she didn’t answer.

”I think…” she hesitated again before sighing in defeat. ”I think there is something off about him. He never speaks about his past and sometimes he gets this… this look.”

”Like what?” Rory wondered as they neared the marshall’s office.

”Guilt.” She met the Doctor eyes. ”Heavy guilt. And shame. I don’t know what he’s done in the past that the gunslinger wants him so badly, but I think that he probably deserves it. And he thinks he does, too.”

They’d reached the office. 

”Isaac?” She lead them inside, finding the marshall at his desk.

”What now, Riley?” He sighed deeply, already having reached his trouble-quota for the day.

”Ah, yes.” The Doctor started. ”You. Thank you, for that out there. Very nasty, but good timing.”

”Isaac, these are my friends.” She told him. ”Guys, this is Isaac, the resident marshall.”

”Right. Straight to business.” The Doctor walked over to the desk and leaned in close to the marshall, making him lean backwards in alarm. ”I hear you have a problem.”

Isaac looked away from the Doctor and to Riley. ”I thought you didn’t have friends.”

”What’s that supposed to mean?” She asked, offended. ”I’ll have you know I’ve got plenty of friends. They’re just lost to me, as of late. But see, some of them found me!”

Seeing the still dis-believing look in his eyes she sighed before turning serious. ”You can trust them, Isaac. They can help.”

”That’s right, we can.” The Doctor beamed. ”Well, mostly me. The other’s can help at times too but mostly it’s just me. I’m brilliant.”

”Watch it.” Amy warned him playfully.

”Whatever.” Isaac gave up. ”I assume your friend has filled you in, then?”

”Somewhat.” The Doctor twirled in his place, getting a look of the office before facing him again. ”You can’t cross the border. But we could come in. Why?”

”You ain't carrying any food. Just three more mouths to feed. We'll all die even sooner now.”

”What happens if you try to cross?” Rory wondered.

Isaac didn’t answer but simply showcased his stetson. The gunslinger had shot it off his head the second day, when he’d tried to cross alongside some other able-bodied men. The Doctor looked at the stetson, horrified.

”He shoots peoples hats!” He made it sound like it was the worst of crimes, making Riley giggle.

”I think it was a warning shot.” Amy corrected him.

”That doesn’t excuse it!” He huffed in indignation.

”And this doctor he wants?” Amy continued. ”Riley said he’d be in here.”

”He is.” She nodded and turned around so that she was facing the steel bars of the jail. 

The rest of them turned in unison. Jex looked back at them, from the other side of the bars, having been listening in from the beginning while hiding in the shadows.

”This is Kahler-Jex, of the Kahler.” Riley introduced. ”He’s the doctor.”

”Afternoon.” He greeted, ever the polite sort. 

”Hi.” The Doctor waved. 

”Hello.” Amy and Rory spoke in tandem.

”Well, isn’t this a sight.” Riley just had to point it out. ”Two doctors, both alien. Awesome.”


	22. Of heroes and war

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alright, so we've officially caught up. Every chapter up until now has been posted on FFnet since I first started this story. But this chapter is new! And really, really long. So enjoy.

”The Kahler. I love the Kahler. They're one of the most ingenious races in the galaxy. Seriously, they could build a spaceship out of Tupperware and moss.” The Doctor gleefully told them all.

”Who on earth would want a spaceship made of Tupperware and moss?” Riley wondered. ”Doesn’t exactly seem structurally sound.”

”You’re missing the point.” The Doctor huffed at her.

”Alright.” Amy stepped forward. ”How did you get here? You blend in with the locals almost as much as the Doctor does.”

”That is, not at all.” Rory quipped.

”Oi!” 

”My craft crashed about a mile or so out of town.” Jex told them. ”I would have died if Isaac and the others hadn't pulled me from the wreckage.”

”And you stayed, as their doctor?” The Doctor asked for confirmation.

”On my world I was a surgeon, so it seemed logical. And it gave me an opportunity to repay my debt to them.” He explained.

There he goes again, Riley thought, talking about debts. He always said it like it was more than simply repaying the townsfolk. One of the reasons she never fully trusted him. 

”Listen to him, making it sound like it was no matter. Tell them about the cholera!” Isaac urged him.

”No, I…” Jex tried to steer the conversation away bashfully.

”Two years after he arrived, there was an outbreak of cholera. Thanks to the doc here, not a single person died.” Isaac beamed.

”A minor infection my people found a cure for, ages ago.” Jex was quick to inform them.

There’s another thing, Riley mused. She knew that Jex in fact was a rather proud person, but whenever someone complimented him, especially on his skill as a physician, he would always shy away. As if he didn’t believe himself worthy of the praise. 

”And the lights!” Isaac pointed out the window. ”What do you call them, the electrics.”

”Using my ship as a generator, I was able to rig up some rudimentary heating and lighting for the town.” He explained to the others.

”Hm, generous.” Amy hummed in appreciation. 

”So!” The Doctor asked the question that Riley had wanted answered for three weeks now, getting them back on topic. ”What does the gunslinger want you for?”

”It doesn’t matter.” Isaac was quick to intervene.

”The hell it doesn’t.” She mumbled, already tired of this argument, but they all heard her anyway and Isaac gave her warning glare.

”America's the land of second chances. We called this town Mercy for a reason.” Isaac informed them but he was looking at Riley. ”Others, some round here, don't feel that way.”

”Of course not, they’re scared and they want answers.” Riley huffed. ”We can’t just hide in the sand and hope it goes away.”

”Riley!” Isaac was really getting tired of her rebellious nature, it would seem. Well, tough!

”Isaac, calm down.” Jex soothed. ”We’ve talked about this.”

”People whose lives you've saved are suddenly saying we should hand you over.” He glared at her.

”I never said that!” Riley was quick to defend. ”I would never! I just want to know what’s going on!”

”Okay, okay!” Amy stepped between them. ”Lets not get our tempers up.”

Rory mumbled something over in his corner. It sounded suspiciously like ”pot” and ”kettle”, making the Doctor smile at him.

”What was that?” The warning in her voice was unmistakable.

”Nothing!” Both Rory and the Doctor shook their heads in fright.

”Wow.” Riley stated in approval. ”You’ve got them trained well.”

”So do you.” Amy grinned at her. ”Or you will, in any case.”

”Spoilers!” The Doctor tried to get her to shut up, an alarmed look in his eyes.

”Do I now.” She let her eyes rake over him. ”Interesting.”

They both looked the men over, as if appraising a horse or something. The Doctor and Rory both paled considerably.

”It’s even worse now that she’s so small.” Rory whispered to the Doctor who nodded in agreement.

”You have no idea.” He shook himself out of it. ”Back on point!”

He turned back to Jex. ”Did you try to repair your craft? Surely someone with your skills…”

”It was really badly damaged.” He sighed in defeat.

”We evacuate the town. Our ship's just over the hills, room for everyone. I'll pop out, bring it back here, Robert's your uncle.” The Doctor summed up for them, all nicely.

”I though it was; Bob’s your uncle?” Riley scrunched up her face in askance.

”Nonsense, Bob’s just a nickname. It’s more polite this way. Do you know him?”

”Robert?” Riley asked. ”Can’t say I do.”

”Exactly! You don’t use nicknames of people you don’t know.” He told her, as if it was obvious. 

”Really? Simple as that. No crazy schemes, no negotiations.” Amy didn’t buy it.

”I've matured. I'm twelve hundred years old now. Plus I don't want to miss The Archers.” He puffed himself up.

”The what?” Riley had no idea what that meant.

He gasped and then shook his head. ”It’s like I don’t even know you anymore.”

”Oh, so you're not even a tiny bit curious?” Nope, she was definitely not buying it.

”Why would I be curious? It's a mysterious space cowboy assassin. Curious? Of course I'm not curious.” He laughed. None of them believed him.

”Son?” Isaac interrupted before they could call him out on it. ”You've still got to get past the Gunslinger. How you going to do that?”

The Doctor took Isaac’s old stetson off the table and put it on with a grin. ”With a little slight of hand.”

============================================================================

”I hate this plan.” Amy told her, as the two of them were stuck waiting around in the marshall’s office. ”What if he gets shot?”

”Who? Rory or the Doctor?” Riley asked from her seat on Isaac’s desk.

”Both!”

”…yeah, that’s likely, isn’t it?” Riley thought.

”You’re not helping.” Amy grounded out in her Scottish accent.

”Just, focus on something else.” Riley tried. ”Anything.”

Amy said nothing, simply nodded and started pacing. Riley sat on Isaac’s desk, dangling her legs back and forth, trying desperately to think positive thoughts. It was going to be okay, the Doctor was going to be okay. Rory too; she may only have met him a few hours ago but she had a feeling that the two of them would one day make good friends. From his perspective, they already were.

Amy had stopped in front of Jex, facing him.

”When this is all done, do you want us to take you home?” She asked.

”Thank you, but I've already given everything I have to the Kahler.” Jex answered softly. ”My skills, energy, all that was good in me. Here, I could start afresh. I could remember myself and help people. That's all I ever wanted to do, end suffering.”

There it was again, Riley mused, the justification. He kept saying things like that, as if trying to justify himself. Although whether to them or himself she couldn’t tell.

Amy looked him over again, noticing the hunched shoulders and the way his hands were running over his arms. 

”Here.” She grabbed Isaac’s coat and slung it over his shoulders, as if to keep him warm. 

Jex smiled then paused. ”You're a mother, aren't you?”

Riley started. Really? Amy had a child? She couldn’t really picture it. Maybe she’d get to know in a few years?

”How did you know?” Amy smiled softly.

”There's kindness in your eyes. And sadness, but a ferocity too.” He explained, gesturing to the coat. 

”Life’s not exactly straight forward.” She told him by way of answer.

”It seldom is.”

”And what about you? Are you a father?” Amy wondered, making Riley look over at them. Was he? She’d never asked if he had a family, mainly because she didn’t want to think about her own. But if he did, what was he doing here? Why wouldn’t he want to go back?

”Yes.” Jex nodded thoughtfully. ”In a way, I suppose I am.”

”You are?” Riley cut in, standing up and walking over. ”How can you be a father ’in a way’? Are you or are you not?”

”Riley.” Amy laughed nervously at her accusing tone of voice. 

Riley would have questioned further but suddenly an alarm started blearing in the distance. They all stood up and turned to the door.

”That’s the alarm on my ship.” Jex stated worriedly. 

”Maybe the Doctor wants to get it working again.” Amy shrugged, not appearing to bothered by this new development.

”But that wasn't the plan. He's not following the plan.” Jex seemed far too alarmed by this.

Riley snapped her gaze to him, not at all liking the way his voice constricted and the way his shoulders tensed. Something was up.

”Welcome my world.” Amy laughed.

”Why?” Riley asked. ”Why is so important that he follows the plan?”

”Because.” Jex said. ”It was a good plan.”

She wasn’t buying it. And Jex could see that she wasn’t. Amy wasn’t paying attention though, her feet taking her outside to see if she could spot what was going on. 

”Jex…” Riley started to say but got no further. The alien doctor pushed her aside violently, making her fall into Isaac’s desk and down to the floor, and he reached for one of the revolvers laying off to the side. ”What are you doing?”

”What I have to.” He growled, not appearing an ounce apologetic. He aimed the gun at her head just as Amy came back inside.

”What…!” The redhead gasped at the sight.

”I'm sorry. He really should have followed the plan.” He said as if that explained everything.

”What the hell?” Amy scowled angrily at him. ”We were helping!”

”You bastard.” Riley ground out, still on the floor and holding her bruised ribcage as if it was going to fall apart. 

”Isaac says he doesn't care about my past, but things may have been uncovered that even he might struggle to forgive, so it's best we beat a hasty retreat.” Jex started backing up toward the door.

”We?” Amy questioned through gritted teeth. ”We’re coming with you?”

”Oh, I only really need the one of you.” He shrugged, the barrel still aimed at Riley. ”It's unlikely the Gunslinger will shoot if I'm with you. As far as I can tell, he's programmed to take innocent lives only if absolutely necessary.”

”Oh, well, colour me reassured.” Amy snarked at him.

”Absolutely necessary?” Riley said from her spot on the floor. ”It is never absolutely necessary.”

”Well said.” Amy nodded at her. ”And neither of us are going with you.”

”Even if we did, how would you expect to get through the town and the townsfolk holding us hostage?” Riley started to raise herself up. ”I mean, that’s bound to catch their attention, don’t you think?”

”Or we could just scream.” Amy added. ”Do you think they’ll be so eager to protect you if they see the kind of man you are, doc?”

”So righteous, both of you.” Jex smiled, but it wasn’t a happy smile. ”Now one of you come with me or I shoot the other.”

”Because that’s how you help people and end suffering.” Riley scoffed. ”By causing more of it, naturally.”

He cocked his gun and re-aimed it at Amy this time. ”You.”

He opened the door.

Riley cheered. Because on the other side of that door was Isaac, and he was not a happy camper. Suddenly Jex got to feel what it was like to have a gun aimed at his own head.

”Doc? What are you doing?”

Rory came up behind the marshall, seemingly surprised by this turn of events, and his eyes immidiately searched over his wife; making sure she was alright.

”It was stupid of me, I realise that now.”Jex tried to explain himself nervously. ”I just thought I'd put you all in enough danger. Perhaps if I left…”

He was really pissing Riley off. How dare he play this off?! Just as she was about to rip him a new one, the Doctor entered. And he looked furious.

”He's lying. Every word, every thing he says, it's all lies. This man is a murderer.” Riley had only ever seen that cold fury in his eyes once before, when the Slitheen had messed about with that innocent pig. Different face, but the anger was the same. Except it was multiplied. Way multiplied. 

”I am a scientist.” Jex defended indignant, as if he had a right to be upset over this accusation. 

”Sit down.” Jex didn’t move. The Doctor snarled and pushed him down. ”Sit down! Tell them what you are.”

”What am I?” Jex laughed humourlessly. ”A war hero.”

Riley scoffed. ”There is no such thing as a war hero, there are no heroes in wars! Only survivors. Only victims!”

The Doctor looked at her in surprise. Then he nodded.

”Okay.” Isaac called their attention. ”Somebody want to tell me what’s going on?”

”The Gunslinger is a cyborg.” The Doctor explained, his voice tired and worn but still managed to hold his anger.

”A what?” Poor Isaac, he really had no idea how complicated the world could be. Would be.

”Half man, half machine. A weapon. Jex built it.” The Doctor glared at the man again. ”He and his team took volunteers, told them they'd been selected for special training, then experimented on them, fused their bodies with weaponry, and programmed them to kill.”

Riley closed her eyes, trying to push away the images that his explanation brought. She had known. Every since she first met Jex, she had known. There was something off about him. Something not quite right. She had guessed he was running from something. Something he’d done in the past. But this… this was far worse than any scenario she had entertained in her mind.

”We'd been at war for nine years. A war that had already decimated half of our planet. Our task was to bring peace, and we did.” Jex defended, but it sounded almost hollow, resigned nearly. But he soldiered on. ”We built an army that routed the enemy and ended the war in less than a week. Do you want me to repent, to beg forgiveness for saving millions of lives?”

”Repent?” Riley asked unbelieving. ”Isn’t that what you think you have to do? Why else would you be here? Sure, you’re running, from him. The monster you created. But you could have hidden, stayed away, not interfered with the town or the people. Yet you’re helping. Curing cholera and providing electricity. You are repenting. This is your self-imposed exile and you’re spending it trying desperately to make up for what you knew was wrong to do.”

Jex stared at her. They all did. She shrugged. ”What? You all know I’m right.”

Jex cast his eyes downward, unable to look at them anymore. Especially Isaac. Not once, Riley had noticed, not once since he had his stolen revolver taken away from him did he dare to look Isaac in the eyes. 

”She is right.” The Doctor took over, the fire replenishing in his eyes. ”You knew it was wrong. How many died screaming on the operating table before you had found your advantage? You knew, but you kept going anyway.”

”War is another world. You cannot apply the politics of peace to what I did. To what any of us did.” Jex shook his head forlornly.

”What happened to them?” Rory spoke suddenly. Riley had forgotten he was even there, he kept so quiet. ”How are you here? Why?”

”When the war ended we had the Cyborgs decommissioned, but one of them must have got its circuitry damaged in battle. It went offline and began hunting down the team that created it until just two of us were left. We fled, and our ships crashed here.” He explained entirely resigned to his situation. He wasn’t even trying to justify himself anymore. Just plain facts.

They all turned away from him, contemplating their next step. Riley could feel the pressure in the room, the air weighing down on them.

”What do we do with Jex?” Rory asked the question of the hour.

”What do we do with him?” Isaac asked incredulously.

”Yeah.” Rory nodded. ”I mean, he’s a war criminal.”

”No, he's the guy that saved the town from cholera, the guy that gave us heat and light.” Isaac cut in, seemingly not at all caring about what had been revealed in the last thirty minutes.

”The guy who’s a mass murderer.” Riley commented off-handedly only to receive the patented Isaac-glare.

”Look, Jex may be a criminal and yeah, kind of creepy…” Amy started.

”And still in the room.” The criminal in question spoke up behind them but was ignored.

”…but I think we should put aside what he did and find another solution.” She ploughed on.

”Yeah, no, I agree with you.” Riley nodded only to find herself on the receiving end of a few incredulous looks. ”What? I don’t like the guy, and he’s a criminal, but we’re not executioners. Alright? It’s not up to us.”

”Another solution?” Rory felt the need to point out. ”It’s either him or us.”

”When did we start letting people get executed? Riley is right. That’s not us. What, did I miss a memo?” Amy reprimanded him and then turned to the one person who had yet to speak a word. ”Doctor, tell him.”

”Hmm? Yes. I don't know.” He wasn’t even paying attention. ”Whatever Amy said.”

”Good fallback.” Riley laughed, even though it was neither the time nor the place.

”Looking at you, Doctor, is like looking into a mirror, almost.” Jex spoke up again. Riley listened with trepidation, what was he doing? ”There's rage there, like me. Guilt, like me. Solitude. Everything but the nerve to do what needs to be done. Thank the gods my people weren't relying on you to save them.”

A breath. Amy and Riley exchanged nervous looks, they both had a bad feeling about what was to happen. The look on the Doctor’s face when Jex spoke, the words washing over him, seeming to strike right at home. It was like something snapped.

”No. No, but these people are. Out! Out! Out!” He pushed him out the door, Isaac quick to follow. 

”What?” Amy and Riley exclaimed at once, trying desperately to follow. But Rory had positioned himself between them and the door.

”Out of the way!” Riley commanded. He didn’t budge.

”You’re really letting him do this?” Amy huffed angrily at her husband.

”Save us all?” Rory nodded. ”Yeah, yeah I really am.”

”Are you…?” Riley pushed at him. But unfortunately her puny arms did nothing to his body mass.

Amy took charge and together they got past him and out of the marshall’s office. It seemed the entire town was out and about, following the spectacle that was the Doctor shoving Jex across the boundary. The three of them hurried after, forcing their way through the crowd until they reached the border.

The Doctor had Jex at gunpoint, keeping him on the wrong side of the line. Isaac is trying to talk him down but the Doctor isn’t listening. So Amy decides it’s time for drastic measures.

She somehow grabs a hold of a gun on her own and fires into the air.

”Let him come back over, Doctor.” She tells him, no, orders him as soon as she has everyones attention.

”Or what? You won't shoot me, Amy.” The Doctor calmly says, all too sure of this fact.

”How do you know?” She goaded him. ”Maybe I've changed. I mean, you've clearly been taking stupid lessons since I saw you last.”

She’s waving the gun around as she speaks, the townsfolk desperately ducking and scrambling to get out of the line of fire. Apparently she’s forgotten she’s even holding a shooting iron in her hands in her emotional tirade as she accidentally pulls the trigger again, making everyone jump. 

”I didn’t mean to do that.” She says sheepishly. Still waving the gun around.

”Um, Amy.” Riley tries to get her attention, successfully. ”Maybe this is a discussion better kept without firepower.”

Amy looks like she’s agreeing to this but before she can speak another gun fires into the air.

”Everyone who isn't an American, drop your gun!” Isaac orders.

”Racist.” Riley mumbles, thankful that Rory is the only one who hears it. He gives her a tight smile for her efforts.

”We can end this right now. We could save everyone right now.” The Doctor pleads, to Amy or to Isaac, Riley can’t tell.

”Too pricey.” She speaks up. ”Never mind the war criminal, what about you, Doctor? Are you an executioner?”

”This is not how we roll, and you know it. What happened to you, Doctor? When did killing someone become an option?” Amy steps up beside her.

”Jex has to answer for his crimes.” He was talking to them now, only them. It was like the rest of the world didn’t matter, it was just the three of them and this one monumental problem. 

”And what then? Are you going to hunt down everyone who's made a gun or a bullet or a bomb?” Amy was really good at this, Riley mused. Probably because she had plenty experience.

”But they keep coming back, don't you see?” He sounded really desperate now. He needed them to understand. Needed Amy to understand. ”Every time I negotiate, I try to understand. Well, not today. No. Today, I honour the victims first. His, the Master's, the Dalek's, all the people who died because of my mercy!”

Riley took two seconds to wonder who ”the Master” was but pushed the thought aside. She had a sneaking suspicion she’d find out. And somehow she knew it wasn’t going to be good.

”You see, this is what happens when you travel alone for too long.” Amy smiled at him. ”Well, listen to me, Doctor. We can't be like him. We have to be better than him.”

”The high road.” Riley said, deep in thought. Who decides which road is the highest anyway? Isn’t that all according to perspective, though? 

”Amelia Pond.” The Doctor sounds strangely proud. ”Fine, fine. We think of something else. But frankly, I'm betting on the Gunslinger.”

He gives his gun to Isaac and then turns back to Jex, only to spot the Gunslinger standing scarily close by.

”Jex, move over the line. Now!” He reaches out his hand but Jex does the stupidest thing ever. He turns around! 

Riley laments the stupidity of men. Seriously, as far as she was concerned Amy and herself were the only sane people left around here. 

”Make peace with your gods.” The Gunslinger states and aims his impressive hand-cannon at Jex’s head.

”Kahler-Tek, isn't it? I remember all your names, even now.” Jex says, his voice wavering but still he stands on the wrong side of the border. ”I'll never hurt anyone again. I'm even helping people here.”

Was he trying to explain himself? Plead for his life? Or just nervously babbling until he was killed? Riley doubted even Jex knew at this point.

”Last chance.” The Gunslinger lifted his weapon menacingly. ”Make peace with your gods.”

He makes to pull the trigger. 

”No!” Isaac moves before anyone has a chance to react. He rushes forward and pushes Jex away, taking the shot in his stead. Riley can only watch in shocked sadness as the man who once saved her life now was fading away; his blood flowing out onto the orange sand.

The Doctor was pleading for the marshall to hang on. He didn’t. Riley didn’t even comprehend what Isaac’s last words were until she saw the Marshall Badge in the Doctor’s hands.

”Protect Jex. Protect everyone. Look after the town in my stead. You’re both good men, you just forget sometimes.”

Riley feels a singular lonesome tear roll down her cheek. She doesn’t wipe it off, simply lets it roll. She feels numb, somehow. She didn’t really know Isaac, heck she barely knew anyone in Mercy, but still. He was the closest thing she had to a friend and she owed him her life. They rarely got along but he tolerated her, even taught her chess. He was a good man. An honest man. And now he was dead.

”Take Jex to his cell. If anything happens to him, you'll have me to answer to.” The Doctor ordered the townsfolk who all obeyed without question. He’d used his authority-voice after all. Four men stepped forward and lifted Isaac’s body off the ground, slowly carrying him away.

The Gunslinger was still standing on his side of the border though.

”This has gone on long enough.” The Doctor adressed him.

”You are right. You've got until noon tomorrow. Give him to me or I'll kill you all.” The cyborg said and vanished, the final words hanging in the air around them.

It was just the Doctor, Amy, Rory and Riley left now. Riley exhaled a long breath she’d been unaware she was holding in.

”Oh, my god. You’re the marshall.” Amy breathed, tinge of horrified amusement colouring her otherwise shocked voice.

”Yeah.” The Doctor sighed before cracking a small smile. ”And you’re the deputy.”

Rory snorted. Amy turned to Riley.

”You okay?”

She looked at the redhead, mentally gauging herself. ”A bit. And a bit not.”

”I am sorry about Isaac.” The Doctor had on his sincere-apology-face.

”He was a good man.” Riley nodded in acceptance. ”Annoying, a brute and not a small amount chauvinistic but a good man still.”

They all quieted in a short moment of remembrance before getting back on track.

”So what happens now?” Rory asked.

”Good question.” The Doctor nodded. ”Wish I had an answer.”

============================================================================

They’d made their way back to the marshall’s office and night had since fallen. The four of them had been brainstorming back and forth about what to do, Jex suspiciously quiet in his cell, but had yet to come up with a solution where everyone got to live. Riley was growing weary, musing silently that maybe this was just one of those problems that had no ”right” solution but she didn’t mention it. 

They were still debating when they got interrupted by a knock on the door.

”Come in.” The Doctor stood up. It was the preacher.

”Marshall. Riley. Ma’m. Fella.” He nodded to them all in turn before looking back at the Doctor. ”You need to come outside.”

”Why, what’s wrong.”

”Just come outside. And you should put that on.” He gestured to the gun belt.

They walked outside, Riley staying behind. She already knew what was coming and figured that it was just safer for her to stay away. For the townsfolk that is, she less likely to punch them if she wasn’t outside.

”Not going?” Jex asked from his seat in his cell.

”I’ve had enough of the stupidity of man for today, thank you.” She shrugged, sitting down on Isaac’s old desk with her legs crossed underneath her.

Jex grunted. ”You always were the cynical type.”

”With good reason.” She nodded, not denying it. 

”And you saw through me the first day we met, didn’t you?” He wasn’t really asking, he knew.

”Well, I always knew you were hiding something. Something bad. I just didn’t figure it was this.” No, she really hadn’t figured this. But it made sense.

”I was a good man once.” Jex said suddenly. He wasn’t defending himself or anything, just stating facts. 

”But not anymore.” Riley stared searchingly at him, even though half his face was obscured by shadows. ”That’s okay though, everyone crosses that line once or twice. More even. At least you made an effort to cross back over.”

What was she doing? Was she excusing him? Jex seemed equally confused.

”You hate me.” He phrased it like a question.

”No. Not hate.” She shook her head, trying to figure out what she meant. ”Never hate. I just… strongly dislike you.”

”Same thing.” He shrugged.

”It isn’t though.” She murmured before raising her voice again. ”I get why you did what you did. It was war and you wanted to protect your home. I just know that… that if I had been in a similar position my choice would have been something completely different. And I would like to think that I wouldn’t have run away afterwards, either.”

”How would you know. You couldn’t possibly understand what it was like.” He huffed, seemingly annoyed at her and her assumptions.

She thought back to the Game station, back to those forty minutes with Jack when they were absolutely certain that they were about to die. That feeling, that desperation, and the need to do something about it but being completely unable to. It was different, she knew it was, but still.

”You’d be surprised.” She told him quietly, making him look over at her questioningly. 

She would have said more but never got the chance to. The Doctor, Amy and Rory entered the office again but this time they had Abraham in tow. Abraham who, Riley noticed, was carrying a coffee pot for some reason. 

”Fresh coffee, Marshal.” Abraham offered as the Doctor was removing his gun belt. ”For what it's worth, I know you're going to save us. Isaac made you Marshal for a reason, and if you're good enough for him, you're good enough for me. Reckon you should know that.”

”Thank you.” The Doctor replies solemnly, before noticing that Abraham was measuring him with a measuring tape. ”Oi, get out of it!”

Briefly Riley wondered what that was about (what was he measuring him for?) but Abraham left before she could ask and she figured that in the long run it really didn’t matter.

”Let me guess.” Jex spoke up from his seat, uncaring. ”The good folk of Mercy wanted me to take a little stroll into the desert. You could turn a blind eye. No one would blame you. You'd be a hero.”

”Anyone who does that is no hero.” Riley shook her head. ”At least not as far as I’m concerned.”

”I agree.” The Doctor sighed. ”Besides, then Isaac's death would mean nothing. Just another casualty in your endless bloody war. Do you want me to hand you over? Is that what you want? Do you even know?”

Jex bristled. ”You think I'm unaffected by what I did? That I don't hear them screaming every time I close my eyes? It would be so much simpler if I was just one thing, wouldn't it? The mad scientist who made that killing machine, or the physician who's dedicated his life to serving this town. The fact that I'm both bewilders you.”

Riley and Amy both looked at each other, their eyes saying something that their hearts wouldn’t let them speak out loud. The Doctor is both too, sometimes. Not exactly the same but not completely different either. They quickly looked away, pretending it hadn’t happened.

”Oh, I know exactly what you are, and I see this reformation for what it really is. You committed an atrocity and chose this as your punishment.” Riley nodded along with what the Doctor was saying, it was the same as she herself had been thinking earlier. ”Don't get me wrong, good choice. Civilised hours, lots of adulation, nice weather, but, but justice doesn't work like that. You don't get to decide when and how your debt is paid.”

The anger was back, not as strong as before, but still back. Coupled with something else well, something laying right underneath the surface; sadness. Although what he was sad about, Riley didn’t dare to speculate.

”In my culture, we believe that when you die your spirit has to climb a mountain carrying the souls of everyone you wronged in your lifetime. Imagine the weight I will have to lift. The monsters I created, the people they killed.” Jex spoke again, this time his voice filled with somber realism, as if he greatly believed in what he was saying and fully expected what was going to happen. ”Isaac, he was my friend. Now his soul will be in my arms, too. Can you see now why I fear death? You want to hand me over. There's no shame in that. But you won't. We all carry our prisons with us. Mine is my past. Yours is your morality.”

”Those are not prisons.” Riley objected. ”They are bonds, sometimes they hold you down and stop you from running away, other times they hold you up and stop you from falling even further. To see them as only something bad is to loose half the purpose of them.”

They all looked at her, surprised. Rory, to Riley’s surprise, actually nodded as if he was agreeing to what she just said. Amy was smiling, as sad sort of smile, as if thinking that’s the Riley I remember. And the Doctor, he looked at her as if only just seeing her for the first time. But Jex, he looked just plain surprised, baffled even.

”What?” She spoke again, feeling slightly defensive. ”That’s what I think.”

”It’s a good thought.” The Doctor answered softly. ”But it doesn’t solve our problem, none of this does.”

”Well we better start thinking ’cause we’re running out of time.” Amy clapped her hands together, raising her shoulders and looking for all the world as if she was ready to take on the universe. ”So, any clever ideas?”

============================================================================

None of them had any clever ideas. Not a single one. Ant the time kept ticking away, unrelenting. Eventually they hammered together the semblance of a plan, which Riley personally felt was even worse than the last one, and started getting things ready.

Soon enough the clock was nearing high noon and Riley found herself together with Amy and Jex in the marshall’s office, yet again. 

”We ready?” Amy asks, looking at the both of them, as she unlocks the cell.

”Not nearly enough.” Riley sighs but stand at the ready, all the same. 

Jex exits the office and starts jogging his way toward the town border, Riley and Amy still inside the building.

”So…” Riley starts. ”We have any faith in this plan?”

”About as much as I can muster.” Amy shrugs. ”Although I do wish we were a part of it a bit more.”

”Me too.” Riley sighs, looking out the window. ”There is nothing worse than just sitting around and waiting.”

Really, it was like the white room all over again. Desperate to find something to distract herself with she looked back at Amy.

”Can I ask you something?” She started. ”You don’t have to answer, spoilers and all, but I was just a bit curious.”

”About what?”

”Well, you and Rory, you both act and talk like we’re good old friends and like I’m still around out there somewhere.” She said, careful not to look Amy directly in the eyes for fear of seeing something she didn’t want to see. ”So where am I? Right now, I mean. Why aren’t I with you all?”

”Oh.” Amy hesitated, unsure of how much to say. ”Well, at the risk of giving you a major spoiler, as soon as you heard we were going to Mexico, to see the Day of the Dead festival, you bolted. Said something about already having seen it and not to wait up. Of course, looking back at it now, it’s probably because you knew where we were actually going and didn’t want to accidentally run into yourself.”

”Oh, okay.” Riley paused, thinking it over. ”I guess that makes sense. I’ll have to remember that, when the time comes.”

”Probably a good idea.” Amy nodded. 

They probably would kept talking if not for the major explosion they heard, coming from the desert.

”What the hell was that?”

============================================================================

It had been Jex, apparently, blowing himself up, along with his ship, to end all the madness. Riley felt strangely saddened by that; they had been semi-friends after all, despite how it all ended. She wasn’t sure whether she wanted to mourn him or just forget all about it.

She was standing outside the TARDIS alongside Amy and Rory, waiting for the Doctor who was having some words with the gunslinger. Riley wasn’t sure what was going to happen to him now and decided that maybe it didn’t matter; she just wanted to get out of there. She was tired of the old west and America and she missed her own time. She also missed her aunt Janice surprisingly much and even though she knew that she would be in so much trouble she couldn’t wait to get home again. She wanted to know what happened to Jack and Rose and where her Doctor was, the one she was used to and not the one he would later become. 

Her musings were cut short as the Doctor came out of the marshall’s office, bouncy as always, babbling on about something or other.

”Okay, so, our next trip. Oh! You know all the monkeys and dogs they sent into space in the fifties and sixties? You will never guess what really happened to them. After we send Riley back to where she belongs, that is.” He rambled, going straight for the TARDIS door.

”That would be much appreciated.” Riley agreed wholeheartedly. 

”Could we leave it a while? Our friends are going to start noticing that we're ageing faster than them.” Amy stopped him though.

”I bet that could be difficult to explain.” Riley nodded before thinking about something. ”Oh bugger, I just realised that I’m older than I’m supposed to be too. What is aunt Janice going to say?”

”How much older?” Rory asked, curious, all the while forcing himself not to ask about aunt Janice, whom he’d never even heard off. _Don’t be stupid, Rory, of course she has a family_. But, he thought somewhat worried, why has she never mentioned them before? And what of her parents?

”I was in my thirteens when I last saw her, now I’m a couple of months into my fourteenth year.” She thought about it. ”You think she’ll notice?”

”It’s only one year.” He tried to reassure her.

Meanwhile the Doctor was hastily wiping away the brief look of sadness he’d gotten, first at Amy’s request and then at the thought of Riley’s family. If only she knew what wonders and horrors lay in her future…

”Another time?” He said to Amy.” No worry. Let’s get you all home.”


	23. Back in time for... robot santas'?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Okay first of, sorry for the delay. I've just not really been in a fanfiction mood lately. Which is why this chapter is so short. Sorry for that too.
> 
> **Also, about Riley's aunt... of course her name is Sarah, I'm not sure where "Janice" came from.** That just proves it's been too long between updates and I can't even keep track of my own characters anymore. I don't know why you put up with me.

Riley had to stop herself from faltering as she stepped inside the TARDIS. It looked so different, the console room had two levels, two! 

”Blimey.” She breathed, her eyes roving all over the place.

”What is it?” Amy asked, not understanding her look of amazement and confusion.

”It looks… different.” Riley swallowed. ”I wasn’t aware she could change looks like this.”

”Oh, this.” The Doctor made a sweeping motion. ”I just changed the desktop.”

”The what?” Rory couldn’t help but wonder. 

”Never mind that.” The Doctor huffed. ”It’s not important. Anyway, Riley. If I remember properly you should be getting back to the Powell estate around christmas.”

”Christmas?” She looked at him, alarmed. ”What do you mean christmas? Can’t you just drop me off right after the whole Cardiff thing, that way I won’t have missed too much?”

”No can do.” He shook his head, not seeming at all too worried. ”Can’t change the timelines too much, and I remember you coming back around christmas.”

”But that’s months later!” She complained. ”What about my aunt? Jared? They’ll have worried so much!”

But he wasn’t listening. The Doctor was busy running around the console and pressing buttons and pushing on levers. Soon enough the engine was activating and the TARDIS disappeared from Mercy.

Elsewhere Riley’s aunt Sarah was sitting in Jackie Tyler’s living room chatting away and trying as hard as she could not to spiral into another panic attack about her missing niece.

”It’s been months already.” She was saying, her somewhat recently acquired friend fussing about the christmas tree. ”Are you sure they’re coming back?”

”Yes.” Jackie answered with conviction. ”He promised me they would.”

In her hand she held a christmas present that was meant for her daughter, her daughter whom she hadn’t seen since she’d helped her get back to the future in that strange police box. That was right before Sarah had come knocking on her door and demanding answers. The two women had spent next couple of hours just simply talking, about everything, and if it hadn’t been for her worry about her own daughter Jackie herself probably hadn’t told the woman as much as she did. But she had been worried and everything was so uncertain and the other woman had a right to know what was happening with her niece and so Sarah had found herself clued in on _everything_ her niece had hidden from her. She was angry at first but it eventually turned into fear, especially as neither of them heard from either of the girls, and now she was starting to think the unthinkable. 

”She’s just a little girl.” Sarah sighed, repeating the same couple of words that had been running around in her head since she first found out the truth. ”It’s so irresponsible!”

”That about sums it up.” Jackie nodded along. ”But Riley wanted to go and so did Rose.”

”So irresponsible.” Sarah muttered again before clearing her throat. ”People have started to ask questions. Her school, even the other neighbours. What am I suppose to tell them?”

”What have you been telling them?” Jackie looked back at her friend, her fellow sufferer of Doctor troubles. 

”That she’s been sick and in the hospital.” Sarah gave an exasperated laugh. ”They’ve got to be thinking that she’s dying by now.”

The conversation would have gone on even longer if not for the tell-tale sound of a certain pair of engines catching their attentions. 

”What is that?” Sarah looked around, trying to figure out where it was coming from.

”It can’t be…” Jackie turned of her music and ran to the window, opening it as quickly as she could. ”It is!”

”What is?” Sarah asked, getting up and running after her friend. ”What’s happening?”

Back in the TARDIS, the one with Amy and Rory, Riley was still trying to get the Doctor to bring her somewhere earlier.

”Seriously, I’m in so much trouble already, why add to it?” She was pleading, trying to get him to see.

”It doesn’t matter.” He repeated. ”The timeline can’t be changed. What if I bring you back earlier than you’re supposed to be and it changes everything? Huh? Something catastrophic might happen.”

”Or nothing at all.” She argued. ”It might not make any difference. We don’t know.”

”Exactly. We don’t. So we can’t risk it.” The engines quieted down. ”And anyway, it’s too late now. We’ve landed.”

And so they had. Riley looked between the Doctor and the door. 

”Just know, if she grounds me or something equally annoying, I’m going to give you a slap the next time I see you. And you won’t even know what for.”

”I remember.” The Doctor muttered, but thankfully no one heard him. He made a shooing motion. ”Off you pop. See you soon. And don’t tell me what happened to you. In fact don’t even mention the future me to me at all. Or to the others.”

”Yeah, yeah.” She grumbled. ”I get it, no spoilers.”

Amy shook her head at him. ”I hope you smack him real good.” She stepped closer and gave the younger girl a hug. 

Riley, though slightly surprised, hugged her back. ”I guess I’ll see you in the future, my future I mean. And the next time I’ll be the one who knows you and not the other way around.”

”The way of time travel.” They both smiled.

”See you soon, Riley.” Rory gave her a quick hug also before correcting himself. ”I mean, for us. Not for you.”

”Spoilers!” The Doctor sputtered shaking his hands at them. 

”And you?” Riley looked at him. ”Or don’t we do hugs?”

”I always do hugs.” The Doctor huffed and came over.

”Not the you I remember, from before. Not that I’m complaining, being a hugger myself.” Riley commented.

They embraced. And then they let go, Riley turning toward the door. Giving the TARDIS one last look, memorising her new look as much as possible, she opened the door and walked out.

”Well, at least he got the location right this time.” She muttered, taking stock of her surroundings. ”Somewhat.”

She was at the Powell estate, sure enough, but not at the right building. In fact, she was a few buildings off. 

Behind her she could hear Sexy giving off her tell-tale groan as she started disappearing again and she turned, giving it a cheery wave.

”Until next time then.”

She started walking towards her home, bracing herself for the major screaming match that was sure to come by leave of her aunt. It wouldn’t be easy, that’s for sure.

She had almost made it when she heard it. The sound she had only just heard literally minutes earlier. The sound of the TARDIS mid-landing. But it sounded somewhat strange, not to mention it was accompanied by other strange sounds like those from crashes. Was the TARDIS crashing into something?

She started running toward it. Maybe it would be Rose? And the Doctor, the other one, the first one, the one that was about to get slapped or so help her.

She rounded a corner and there it was; flying erratically around and crashing into the buildings as it steadily made a descent. Riley watched as it finally made a (very) bumpy landing, knocking over a trashcan, and saw to her surprise that there were other people running towards it. People she recognised.

There was Jackie and Mickey. Oh, how she’d missed them. And… aunt Sarah?

The door to the TARDIS opened and out stepped a man. Not the Doctor, the old or the new one, but another man. He met the other people with a big smile and seemed to be rambling about something but Riley was too far away to hear. 

Then, to the surprise of all witnessing, he keeled over. And that’s when Rose stepped out of the TARDIS.

Riley was closing in now and none of them appeared to have noticed her. Which, given that she was still wearing her old west dress that didn’t at all fit in with contemporary London, was a bit odd. Though she supposed they were all a bit preoccupied. 

”That's him, right in front of you. That's the Doctor.” She could hear Rose explaining to the others.

Huh, that’s the Doctor then. _He must have changed his face_ , Riley thought, _and then again before arriving in Mercy. How many times can he do that anyway?_

”What do you mean he’s the Doctor?” Jackie asked, holding onto the man’s shoulder. ”Doctor who?”

”Rose.” Her aunt spoke up and Riley wondered yet again what exactly she was doing there. Had Jackie told her everything? Riley couldn’t even remember what she’d told her aunt herself, all those months ago in that white room. She’d said something about asking Jackie, hadn’t she? ”What about Riley? Is she in there? Riley!”

Riley was about to announce her presence but Rose spoke before she had a chance. 

”I don’t know where she is.” The blonde looked extremely guilty about that. ”The last time I saw her…”

”What? What do you mean? Where is she?” Her aunt was getting rather harried now, wasn’t she. Time to put her out of her misery and face the music.

”She’s right here, actually.” Riley spoke up, taking the others by complete surprise. Jackie even gasped.

They all turned around and stared at her. 

”And boy do I have a story to tell.” She gave a wide smile. ”You are not going to believe what I’ve been up to.”

================================================

It took them a while but eventually they relocated to the Tyler’s living room. They placed the unconscious Doctor in a bed and Riley sat down with her aunt on the sofa.

”I am so sorry.” Was the first thing that came out of her mouth. ”If I had known that it would have taken me this long to get back home I wouldn’t have hung up on you when you called before.”

”I was angry about that.” Her aunt admitted. ”I talked to Jackie and she told me that you were telling the truth about the whole alien and time travel thing.”

She sounded very calm, Riley couldn’t help to notice, a bit too calm. She cleared her throat nervously.

”So… you probably have questions?” She did her best to look innocent. ”Like, where I’ve been and such?”

”No, just the one actually.” Her aunt took a deep breathe and Riley just knew, knew that this was it. She braced herself and sure enough. ”How could you just go off, without permission, and travel with some strange alien man without telling me?! I’ve been worried sick, Riley! What if something had happened, huh? How could you do this?”

”Well I… I don’t know.” She shrugged, trying to look as sorry as she felt. ”But I don’t regret it.”

”You don’t…!” Her aunt took another deep breathe, this time to center herself. ”You don’t regret it?”

”No, I don’t.” Riley shook her head. ”I do regret not telling you and making you worry, but I don’t regret going. And I’ll probably end up going again, quite soon.”

She thought back to Amy and Rory and how they seemed to know her, quite well actually, and knew that she would end up travelling with the Doctor again. Maybe not immidiately but it would happen and she was rather looking forward to it.

”Oh, you will, will you.” Her aunt repeated as if to say _’we’ll see about that, won’t we’_. 

”Yes, without a doubt.” And she wasn’t sorry about it either. 

”Not without my say-so, young lady.” 

”Oh, really.” Riley scoffed, unable to help herself. ”And what makes you think you can stop me?”

Her aunt didn’t seem to have a reply to that. In fact, she looked rather taken aback. Riley had never spoken to her like that before. In fact, she was a bit surprised herself. She sighed, trying to calm herself down, and leaned forward to look her aunt directly in the eyes. 

”Look, aunt Sarah, I really am sorry for leaving without telling you.” She started talking again, this time softer. ”In my defence I didn’t realise I would be gone for this long. A lot of stuff happened and yes, as you’re probably thinking, it was dangerous. But it was also fun. And amazing. I’ve seen so many wonderful things and horrible things and it has all been a very long adventure. And I don’t regret it one bit.”

She took her aunt’s hands and held them firmly. ”And when the opportunity comes again, as I know it will, I will hop right back into it. I don’t need your permission, nor do I particularly care if you refuse to give it, but it will happen again. This I know with absolute certainty.”

”You…” Wow, Riley mused, she had never seen her aunt quite this baffled before. What an achievement. If it was a good one or a bad one, though, she wasn’t sure. 

”But I can promise you one thing.” Riley gave her the softest smile she could manage. ”That the next time it happens, whether it is tomorrow or next year, I will let you know. I will tell you that I am leaving, and if I can I will tell you where to, and I’ll guarantee that I will always answer my phone when I can rather than just ignore it when you call.”

”…” Her aunt still looked very taken aback by the entire thing but after a few seconds of complete silence she shook herself out of it and answered, somewhat shaken. ”You seem older.”

Riley paused at the unexpected reply before smiling again, this time rather sheepishly. ”Well, I kind of am. I told you, things happened. My fourteenth birthday was a couple of months ago.”

”Fourteenth…!” If she hadn’t already been sitting down, Riley would have told her aunt to do just that, she looked a bit pale.

”Yeah…” She laughed nervously. ”Sorry.”

”You’re sorry.” Her aunt seemed to be doing breathing exercises now. ”You’re sorry.”

Not entirely sure how to handle the situation Riley decided to just sit there and wait for it to be over. Was her aunt having a panic attack? What are the symptoms for a panic attack anyway? Eventually she calmed down… mostly. 

”You better?” She leaned back to get a better picture of the older woman. ”Feeling okay?”

”I really can’t stop you from going away again.” Her aunt, it seemed, had switched tracks again without giving Riley a warning. She backtracked through their conversation to figure out where exactly they were before shaking her head.

”I’m afraid not.” 

”Well, then.” She then did something Riley wasn’t quite prepared for. She hugged her, hard. ”I was so worried I’d never see you again.”

Gathering her wits about her, Riley couldn’t help but return the favour and embraced her. ”Me too, aunt Sarah, me too.”

===================================

Jared, as it turns out, was working a double shift and was crashing at a friends place after because one of his college mates was getting married on new years eve and they had a stag party due. So she didn’t actually get to meet him in person but when they spoke on the phone he was ecstatic to hear that she was back. He too had been very worried and rather missed her and she better stick around to greet him when he would get back home in three days. 

Her aunt Sarah meanwhile had been invited over to Jackie’s place for christmas, since they both were unsure if their girls were ever going to get home and neither wanted to really be alone. Riley had to ask again, just to be sure, but it turns out that her aunt and Rose’s mum had made good friends over the months spent anxiously waiting and worrying and apparently it wasn’t unusual for the two of them to get together for dinner here and there. This was a surprise for Riley and for Rose who had both been under the impression that the two women had absolutely nothing in common.

”I suppose they have us in common, now.” Rose had shrugged, nonplussed. 

So, summoning it up, Riley was spending christmas with Rose and Mickey as they (after a desperate change of clothes on Riley’s side) went shopping for food and gifts for their impromptu christmas party.

”I can’t believe it’s christmas.” Riley repeated, for the umpteenth time, looking around at the holiday spirit all around. ”It doesn’t at all feel like it for me.”

”I know what you mean. Traveling in the TARDIS makes everything go completely out of synch.” Rose agreed.

The two of them hadn’t really had time to talk since getting back. Riley had been busy with her aunt and Rose with her mum and the Doctor, who still hadn’t woken up. Riley was sure that once things calmed down a little and they got back on track, the blonde would be all full of questions and she herself had a fair few to ask. But right now they were both sort of spent and decided to just focus on the here and now. 

Mickey meanwhile, having lent the both of them some money seeing as they were both completely broke, was in an unusual good mood. If not a bit sarcastic.

”Oh, yeah, that's fascinating, because I love hearing stories about the Tardis. Oh, go on Rose, tell us another one because I swear I could listen to it all day. Tardis this, Tardis that.” He said in his stupid-voice, rocking his head in a mocking way.

”Shut up.” Rose was not amused.

”Oh, and one time the Tardis landed in a big yellow garden full of balloons.” He kept going.

”You think you are so funny.” Riley shook her head, smiling. She’d missed him, really she had.

”I’m not like that.” Rose denied.

”Oh, you so are.” He argued. ”And I so am.”

”You’re so not.” Riley argued back before focusing on a nearby christmas booth. ”I’m going to go over there and see if they have anything fun.”

”Just don’t get lost!” He shouted back to her as she weaved her way through the crowd.

”You don’t get lost!” She couldn’t help but reply.

She needed some sort of gift for her aunt. It didn’t have to be amazing or anything, seeing as she only had like an hour to buy it, but she couldn’t return empty handed. Sarah had driven to meet up Jared, the two of them having agreed on a brief coffee-date seeing as it was christmas and work be damned, and was due back at the Tyler’s loft come dinner time. They would have dinner with the Tyler’s and Mickey, go home and sleep, then return the next day for a proper christmas day celebration. So technically the gifts weren’t supposed to be exchanged until then but Riley rather doubted she’d have time after this so she better find something for her aunt now, or it would be a bust. 

She browsed a collection of snow globes before deciding that it wasn’t aunt Sarah’s style and moved on to look at ”luxury” alpaca gloves and scarves. She was right in the middle of trying a pair of five fingered gloves on to test comfort when all hell broke loose.

Is that a flamethrower? Riley couldn’t help to stop and stare, as opposed to the rest of the world around her. 

All around her people are running away in screaming terror and they keep bumping into her. One particularly large gentleman actually knocked her over and she landed on her backside with an oomph.

”Riley!” She hears Rose calling out for her.

Looking over she sees both her and Mickey hiding behind another booth across the square but standing between them are… a group of killer santa clauses with flamethrowers disguised as musical instruments? She has to look twice to be sure she’s not hallucinating. 

Another blast from one of their blow horns and a christmas tree falls over. Yep, not hallucinating. Rose is gesturing for her to run and she does, meeting up with them on the street where they rush into a taxi cab who is more than happy to drive off in a hurry.

”What the hell just happened?” Riley asks, bewildered. ”Santa clauses with flamethrowers?!”

”Are you alright?” Mickey asks her. ”You were on the ground.”

”Yeah, some panicking idiot knocked me over. I’m fine, just bruised.” She assures him. ”Seriously though, what happened?”

”They were after us.” Rose speaks, out of breath. ”Or rather, the Doctor.”

”What?” Riley asks, more than a little bit confused.

”I can’t even go shopping with you.” Mickey grumbles. ”We get attacked by a brass band.”

Rose digs out her phone. ”Who are you phoning?”

”My mum.” Is the answer.

”Seriously.” Riley repeats, ”I can’t even get one day?”

Rose, meanwhile, is having no luck. ”Oh, hang up the phone!” She groans, unable to get ahold of her mother.

”Who were those Santa things?” Mickey asks.

”I’m guessing they’re not really Santa’s, maybe it’s a disguise.” Riley proposes.

”I don’t know. But think about it. They were after us. What's important about us? Well, nothing, except the one thing we've got tucked up in bed. The Doctor.” Rose concludes, looking at them. ”Whatever this is, it’s got something to do with the Doctor.”

”Doesn’t it always.” Mickey mutters, causing the blonde to send him a glare. 

”Guess we better hurry back, then.” Riley agrees.

Rose turns to the driver urgently. "Hurry up."


End file.
